


The Historian

by Lalaith_Quetzalli



Series: Nightingale [34]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Smallville, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies), Wonder Woman (2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Extended Families, F/M, Families of Choice, Family, Family Feels, Immortality, Name Changes, Pre-Avengers (2012), Soulmates, The Avengers (2012) Spoilers, Time Travel, Wonder Woman (2017) Spoilers, World Travel, World War I, World War II, smallville references
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-12
Updated: 2018-08-26
Packaged: 2019-06-26 11:48:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 29,511
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15662640
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lalaith_Quetzalli/pseuds/Lalaith_Quetzalli
Summary: Alternative Universe to Nightingale (Can mostly be read as a Stand Alone).There is more than one version of history, they’re all right, and they’re all wrong; it just depends on where you’re standing at any given time. She knows this, has studied it, has lived it. In the end, she learned her lesson: she’s done with just being witness to history, this time? This time she’ll be the one making it.





	1. Witness

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! Here we are, with a new AU. For this remember that while I follow the WW movie, everything else where it concerns DC comes from Smallville rather than their own movieverse, or the more recent tv-shows.
> 
> This fic has two parts, the second and last will come in a couple of weeks.
> 
> Dreamcast: Emily Browning as Nightingale, Michael Cassidy as Julian Luthor, Kristin Scott Thomas as Kathryn Adler-Salani. All others appear in one or another of the original fandoms.
> 
> The songs in this chapter (though only parts of each appear) are: "Soulmate" as sung by Natasha Bedingfield, "Find My Way Back" by Eric Arjes (just imagine it sung by a woman) (this one appears twice, different parts of it).

The Historian

(Alternative Universe to  _ Nightingale _ )

_By: Lalaith Quetzalli_

_There is more than one version of history, they're all right, and they're all wrong; it just depends on where you're standing at any given time. She knows this, has studied it, has lived it. In the end, she learned her lesson: she's done with just being witness to history, this time? This time she'll be the one making it._

**Witness**

You can never know all of history, because history never truly ends.

I was standing in the shadow of the trees, in my usual lilac long-sleeved dress with blue loose pants underneath. Not exactly what most would consider a battle attire, but I'd fought in worse. And I did have my weapons with me: my bow and arrows, as well as the copper knife, and the set of throwing knives; all gifts. Those who didn't know me, who didn't understand my life, might have thought I was crazy, what need did I have to go around so armed, like I was about to step into a battlefield… but while I'd no intention of doing that, not then, not yet, I was no stranger to battlefields. Had been through two wars, and more things that while they'd never been called by such names, had ended up being just as bad.

So I stood there, letting the shadows shield me as I bore witness to the events taking place in that backyard. The girl was screaming, fighting like crazy, pulling moves she wouldn't understand until much later she shouldn't have even known… it was still useless in the end, her opponents were much too strong. Eventually she was forced onto her knees, in front of the tall figure who had the power of life and death over her; but she wasn't cowed, no, she wasn't the kind to be cowed even in the face of death… I'd never been…

_I'd always knew it'd end like that. Wasn't sure why I'd never told Maverick… or perhaps he knew too and chose not to mention it. Either because he didn't want to scare me, or he just thought that as long as it wasn't mentioned, it wouldn't happen… I myself had been afraid of jinxing us if I ever brought it up; but more than that, I was afraid he'd decide to walk away, to cut all ties from me in an attempt to keep me safe. He was the kind of person who'd have done that, and it's not something I could have ever wanted. Not even as I was forced to kneel at the feet of the one man I ever found it in myself to hate: Odin Allfather, King of Asgard, and father to the most important person in my whole life…_

_He didn't like me. It was clear in the way he sneered at me. Like I was less simply for being a mortal girl. But I didn't not cower, even on my knees I refused to let fear control me. So I held myself as straight as I could and stared him straight in the eye._

" _You're an odd little thing." He commented, almost mockingly. "So completely unafraid."_

" _I have nothing to fear." I replied calmly, confidently._

" _Not even death?" He challenged, a hand on his sword._

" _Only stupid people fear death." I replied without missing a beat._

_It was the truth. While I didn't exactly wish for death (never that, I wasn't an idiot, or suicidal), I didn't fear it either. I'd been as good as dead at fourteen, would have if it hadn't been for Loki. I had come to terms with my own death a long time prior and saw no point in fearing it anymore. The one thing I never considered coming to terms with was precisely the opposite, the absence of death; immortality in the simplest of terms. But then again, that was a whole other matter._

" _It goes against the rules." Odin stated in an almost pleasant voice, almost, except for the line of steel, the coldness in his every word. "You knowing all you do. All he told you."_

" _He told me nothing." I scoffed, unable to hold myself out. "I figured it out. It wasn't that hard."_

_That seemed to actually surprise him._

" _Didn't you know?" I just couldn't help myself, seeing as I was already in a heck of a lot of trouble, why not challenge him? (maybe I was a bit of an idiot). "You and your people, you're way too flashy. You think that because humans live short lives we're stupid or something. But we're not. we're smart; some of us very smart even. We keep records, of things both proven to be true, and some that were believed to be so fantastical they've been relegated to fiction, called legends and myths. I always had my suspicions, my belief that at least some of them might have more truth than most would expect. And I was right."_

_Of course I was. It wasn't going to help me against the bastard; but then again, I didn't expect it to. I didn't exactly have high expectations about how I'd come out of that meeting, all things told. A part of me wasn't sure I'd even come out of it…_

_There was some great speech about mortals and our place and how unworthy we were of those like him… I wasn't really paying attention, it sounded entirely too dramatic and Shakespearean and absolutely pointless in the end. I still couldn't help but respond in the end:_

" _So what, you'll kill me now?" Well no, he'd probably get one of his minions (the ones who'd forced me to my knees) to do it, but the point remained._

" _I won't have to." He replied with a mocking smile. "That's what you mortals do, die, and you do it all on your own."_

_He was right, of course, we mortals died… but I was seventeen years old, it's not like there was anything likely to kill me for at least several decades. The one thing had been taken care of three years prior. And while there was always the chance of some traffic accident, or some other freaky thing happening, it wasn't that likely… and then I heard him calling for someone, a Heimdall…_

_By the time my scholarly mind caught up with the rest of me, it was much too late already, the multi-colored light was all around me and I didn't even have the air needed to scream…_

The Bifrost activating and seconds later deactivating brought me out of my musings. Even then, I waited for a full five minutes before stepping out of the shadow of that tree and straight onto the garden. The ground was burnt, the markings of the Aesir portal covering more than half of the garden, or the remains of what had once been a garden. Most of it had been destroyed during the fight, and by that point only a few flowery bushes remained… and a single rose. Even the lavender tree hadn't made it unscathed.

It was, all in all, a shocking picture, and a perfect demonstration of how callous certain non-humans could be. Odin and his ilk… they hadn't cared about the damage and destruction they left behind. About how people were going to react to the chaos both inside and outside the house, to the absence of one seventeen-year-old girl, or the symbols that had been burnt so deeply into the ground that even pulling out all the grass and replacing it probably wouldn't be enough.

I was still standing there, just inside the remains of a once beautiful garden (of My Garden), half-absently fingering the leather-band around my left wrist, which I knew was spelled to make sure no Asgardian would be able to detect me without my permission; when I heard them. They could be so quiet when they wanted, when they needed to, but in that moment I knew they were there, all of them, those I considered my family. Even if we weren't thus by blood, that didn't matter, they were my family in every way that counted.

"I know you're there." I said out-loud, careful to make my voice sound normal.

"Of course you know, I'd be more worried if you didn't." One of the two at the front of the small group, with dark hair, tanned skin and somewhat gruff-looking.

"It'd be understandable though." The woman by his side, all dark-hair and perfect golden skin, added for good measure.

The other two stepped forward then. So different and so similar from one another, they were the youngest, even if already adults in their own right (well, the youngest was barely one, seeing as he was all of eighteen-years-old… but still).

"We're here for you mama." The youngest was the one to speak out-loud, but I knew he did so for most of them.

"I know." I nodded.

For the longest time I said nothing at all. Just stood there, contemplating the long and complex (and more than a little insane) series of events that had brought us to where we were in that very moment. Standing in the backyard of a house I once called home, having just witnessed the event that started it all… except, for me, that had been more than a hundred years prior…

When things first happened… I didn't know when I lost consciousness exactly. Even decades later, looking back on it, all I could remember was the colors swirling around me, dizzily, a push and then, just for a moment, stars… thousand of stars shining with silvery light. Wasn't sure when I lost consciousness exactly, but I woke up to find myself being dragged onto a ship, of pirates, and definitely not Pirates-of-the-Caribbean kind of pirates. Thankfully I never had to find out the treatment they gave to women, especially women who had no way to defend themselves. The very same day the ship ran aground, forcing everyone to get working on that. I took the advantage that was presented to me, diving straight off the ship at the first opportunity; I heard the first shout against me a fraction of a second before hitting the water. While I hadn't exactly had time time to plan my escape, I was quite capable of thinking on my feet; I'd taken a big gulp of air before reaching the ocean, I also knew better than to surface right away and instead used the momentum to go deeper and move as far away from them as I could. I stayed underwater as long as I could and came out coughing and sputtering. A group was still behind me, on the small boat they'd been using to move around the ship and find a way to get free of the reef. I swam as fast as I could, but eventually it became just too much… had just caught sight of a beach when a shot hit the water but inches from my flank.

That was when things got beyond insane, I heard the unmistakable sound of an arrow sailing just above my head, followed by a short scream. That gave me a second wind, just enough to push myself all the way to the beach, then I about passed out with a mix of bone-deep exhaustion and absolute relief.

When I woke up again… that was when things got interesting…

_While it would have been over-dramatic to claim I never expected to wake up again, truth was that since being forced to kneel before the Allfather I'd gotten so many shocks I just had no idea if I was alive or dead, awake or sleeping anymore. I woke up in a small room, which definitely was not an infirmary, though I certainly looked like I should be in one. I was no longer wearing the skirt and blouse I'd been in since that fateful night, instead I'd been dressed in a simple but pretty nightgown._

_I wasn't a prisoner, but wasn't exactly free either. It took no time at all for my hosts to become aware that I was awake and they sent food to me, signaled me to a door that lead to a bathroom. Which immediately sent warning bells in my head, because the bathroom? Yeah, it was the kind of thing I'd have expected from Roman times or something like that. I was also provided with a change of clothes that basically consisted of an off-white linen dress with tanned leather accents and leather sandals with straps that would reach to my knees._

_As soon as I was in the clothes I was escorted to another room. It took me no time to realize that all around me were women, all in leather dresses that probably doubled as armor. My ever-active mind also made the connection with one particular group that had been in my studies: the amazons. I wasn't sure if that was comforting (wherever I was, there was still some kind of connection to my home) or not (amazons were supposed to be a myth! Then again, so was my best friend in the world so…). Reaching the front my instincts immediately recognized the two women standing there as the probable leaders._

" _Greetings." I spoke, in my most formal tone, and accent-less Greek, as I bowed my head to them. "You have my gratitude for your providential help. Could I know where I am?"_

" _Who are you?" The younger of the two presumable leaders demanded._

" _Ah…" I wasn't expecting that, though I probably should have, it's not like they knew me from eve! "Silbhé, daughter of Aislinn, scholar."_

" _And what were you doing, Silbhé, scholar, with those men?" The same woman hissed._

_She said the word 'men' like it was a curse, and a part of me began wondering how much of the old legend might be true… and how much might have actually been simplified._

" _I'm afraid that wasn't of my own will, my lady." I did my best to placate her. "Circumstances drove me from my home, and an accident put me in the path of those pirates. I escaped at the first opportunity, which happened to be when they ran aground in a reef not to far from… here."_

" _We demand the truth!" The woman practically snarled._

_I flinched, I really did, muscles locking up as I remembered the fight against Odin's minions, I still had the bruises on me. Probably would for a while._

" _Bring the lasso." The woman demanded, turning to another._

_The lasso turned out to be an actual lasso, couldn't call it a rope as it looked like no rope I'd ever seen, all golden and perfect. Also, I could feel its power the moment it touched me. Didn't quite understand what it was supposed to do until the questions started:_

" _Who are you?" This time it was the leader asking the questions, while the other held the lasso._

" _Silbhé Arianna, daughter of Aislinn and Sebastian, Professor of History, Mythology and Literature." I answered evenly._

" _Why were you with those men?" She asked next._

" _They found me in the sea, half-drowned, rescued me, their intentions probably weren't that good." I shrugged. "I escaped the moment I got a chance."_

" _Where where you before those men found you?" She tried a new question._

" _Home." I answered simply. "My family home."_

" _How did you end up at sea." She pressed on._

" _No idea." I deadpanned._

" _How are you lying?" She demanded._

" _I'm not lying." Then, knowing she wouldn't be happy with that, I added: "You ask questions, and the magic in your lasso demands truth. I give you truth. They may not give you what you seek, but they're not lies. And before you try and get creative. If you ask me where my home is I could give you a poetic description of what I consider home, or I could get technical and give you my exact address, neither of which would help you. If you ask me how one can get here, I have no idea, because I don't even know where here is. How I got here… that one is trickier, and not something I can properly answer either because even I don't know."_

" _How did you get from 'home' to 'here'?" The woman stated, though there wasn't quite as much bite as before._

" _A man disagreed with his son's choice of friends, meaning me." I answered as evenly as I could. "He wanted to get rid of me, called on a Rainbow Bridge, and I ended up here. How exactly I ended up here, again, I haven't the slightest idea. The Bifrost, from what my studies indicate, serves to connect realms. You… you don't fit with any of the inhabitants my studies indicate those realms would have. Then again, the books I've read could be wrong."_

_Or Odin could have done something entirely different when he'd called on the Bifrost and then pushed me out of the rainbow bridge itself._

" _What do you want?" The woman inquired, voice almost soft all of a sudden._

_I could have groaned, such an open question, all the answers I could have given her. I could have told her I wanted food, I had no idea when my last meal (before what they'd given me) had been, but I still felt hungry; I could have said I wanted to sleep, not because I was tired, but because a part of me felt so unreal with everything, I wanted to believe if I went to sleep I might then wake up back in my own home…_

" _I want to go home…" I admitted eventually. "But I'm not sure if that's even possible."_

So I stayed. Not like I had a lot of options, but still. I knew that they didn't really trust me, the Amazons. Even when Queen Hippolyta welcomed me as a guest, anyone with eyes could see that her sister, Antiope, did not approve of me, and so no one befriended me. They fed me, and when I insisted on being useful, they gave me some tasks, so I sort-of became a maid. I did not mind the position, or the work, and at least the girls I worked with grew used enough to me that they no longer treated me like I was a leper or somewhat. I wasn't their friend, but I wasn't as unwanted anymore. It seemed like such an achievement.

And then I met Diana… or more precisely, Princess Diana… It was a disaster. The woman was so obviously older than me (by a measure of several thousands of years, if my calculations were correct) yet she acted like a child at times. Starting with her ditching her tutors to go looking for me while I was sweeping a hall to ask a hundred questions about me, my origins and my reasons for being there. Also, apparently it was all my fault, as she'd heard me singing… I'd made a point of ensuring no one heard me singing. Leaving my quarters in the middle of the night once a week or so and walking practically to the other side of the island, where I'd sing, or sometimes play the dizi (as it happened, the instrument had been in its usual, spelled bag in my jacket, and I managed not to lose it through the whole mess of those two, three days) letting out all my feelings the best way I knew how: through music.

It was supposed to be my private time, though I'd expected either the Queen or her sister to have sent someone to spy on me, to make sure I wasn't planning something nefarious. The princess… that was a whole other mess, especially because I was quite confident no one had sent her. She just seemed like the kind of person to do that, especially if someone so much as suggested she shouldn't. She was really much too childish for a grown woman.

It took her three nights (not continuous, as I never did the trek two nights in a row), before the princess finally went to me. Even then, she waited several feet away until my song came to an end. Most nights I sang old songs (for me at least), not my own, songs I'd listened to on the radio, played melodies I'd once heard in my dad's old record of the Orchestra mama had played with. That night was a rare exception, that night I was singing my own song, the last I'd composed:

" _Most relationships seem so transitory_

_They're all good but not the permanent one"_

" _Who doesn't long for someone to hold_

_Who knows how to love you without being told_

_Somebody tell me why I'm on my own_

_If there's a soulmate for everyone"_

" _Who doesn't long for someone to hold_

_Who knows how to love you without being told_

_Somebody tell me why I'm on my own_

_If there's a soulmate for everyone_

_If there's a soulmate for everyone"_

_I let out a sigh as the song came to an end, then I just waited, and soon enough she came to me:_

" _Who do you sing to?" She asked me straight out._

" _Those I've lost." I answered calmly._

" _Why do you sing in a language that isn't your own?" She asked next._

_I knew the reason for that. Since I kept speaking Greek to them, but I didn't know any songs in that language. Most of the ones I did know were in English, in fact._

" _I know a lot of languages." I told her evenly. "I wouldn't call any of them my own."_

" _Are you always so evasive when answering?" She pressed._

" _I don't see it as being evasive." I quipped, then clarified. "You ask questions, already expecting answers, but I have no obligation to answer you princess. My life is my own, and as insane as it might be, as much as this might be your home I'm an unwitting guest in, you have no right to my secrets. None of you do."_

_I could tell she wasn't expecting that answer. It didn't make her go away though._

Diana's visits to me changed something; I never knew exactly what, or why. But after that night more people began saying more than two words to me. Diana kept following me in the nights, and eventually I stopped going so far before singing, stopped trying to hide that part of me from the amazons… stopped trying to divide the pieces of my life.

I told Diana, and the other Amazons that began joining us after a while, my story. Piece by piece, in starts and stops. I told them about the girl born to an architect and a musician, each artists in their own right, raised by an aunt when her mother passed away and the loss hurt her father so much he kept away most of the time. Told them about the girl who was always sick, who had no friends, until one walked out of the shadows and straight into the garden. About the girl who almost died and whose life was saved by a sorcerer binding their lives together.

" _He really did that?" Chrysanthe, one of the younger-seeming amazons inquired._

" _Yes." I nodded._

" _But," Eirenne, one no so young interjected. "I thought all men were untrustworthy, weak…"_

" _Not all men are like that, just like not all women can be like you." I explained calmly. "There is no perfection. He… he's my friend, and I care deeply about him. And he cared enough about me to save my life, at risk of his own. I didn't understand it then, I was much too young. I didn't realize all he'd risked, saving my life, even just by being my friend…"_

_The possibility of never being able to thank him for it, for saving my life, but mainly simply for having been my friend, that was one of my greatest fears._

When I told them about the day Odin Allfather had found me… I thought there would be a riot. The way they reacted, so vicious and self-righteous, for my sake alone, I was incredibly honored. I wasn't sure how it had happened exactly, but at some point I'd become one of them. They called me Aidóni, which was the Greek for Nightingale… it was Diana's idea and I liked it, a way to keep all of them as well as Loki, close to my heart.

I never did keep track of time while living in Themyscira. It was next to impossible with the way seasons just didn't seem to change there. Though, as became obvious eventually, time did pass; even if it didn't have the same meaning for amazons, immortal as they were; pass it did.

One night there was a particularly bad storm, lightning and thunder and howling winds. It got so bad that almost everyone living in the palace gathered in one of the main halls, myself included. I could see in their eyes they were all very affected by the storm, and I'd no idea why, until Xenia, one of the oldest looking amazons, explained it to me:

" _Never in all our history had we suffered through a tempest such as this Aidóni." She told me. "Not in all our years in our island. This land was blessed by the gods, shielded by Zeus himself. We are meant to be safe here…"_

" _But that's it, don't you see?" I murmured in return, even as my mind finished making the connections. "It's the gods power that has kept you protected. And the gods are gone…"_

" _Their power is running out." Diana was the first to catch up to my thoughts._

" _I don't think you need to worry about it all falling apart exactly, but the power has certainly lessened." I offered. "It'd explain this storm, and also how the pirates got so close."_

Of course, having an idea of what was happening and why did not prevent the mess we came upon the following morning. Hippolyta had ordered everyone to check through the island, make sure everyone was alright. While there were no dead, things were messy in some places. Branches and even whole trees fallen, some had caught fire, horses and other animals that had broken through their fences in the terror of the tempest. Also, there was an old (thankfully abandoned tower) that had evidently been hit by lightning several times, it was crumbling. I warned the others about it, so no one would get too close, have it fall upon them. Of course there were those who paid no attention to me, maybe they thought I didn't know what I spoke of, or that being amazons they could handle it; and there were those who just did not receive my message in time… like Diana.

_I couldn't have known if Diana would have survived that wall falling on her; in the end, it was something I just wasn't willing to risk. The moment the hard, bone-chilling crack was heard, I was already running. I ran as fast as I could, faster than I ever had before, throwing myself the last few feet, pushing Diana with all my strength and hoping it'd be enough._

_I didn't feel the pain at first, not really. Eyes closed as debris and dust flew around, I coughed as the dust got in my lungs, making it harder to breath; I was only half aware when I ended spitting something, the metallic taste of blood on my tongue._

" _Aidóni!" Several voices cried out all around me._

_It took a little while for things to clear enough, some of the smaller rocks to be moved enough for me to see them. Diana was there, as well as Antiope and many other amazons. Some just staring at me in horror, while others were looking for a way to get the wall off me._

" _Why did you do that?" Diana asked, agony in her voice._

" _Do y-you even ha… have to ask?" I asked in return, coughing a bit more. "I didn't… you may not be m-my princess Diana-a. But… you're my f-friend."_

_Diana said nothing else, but I could see she was crying. I was having so much trouble breathing, I guessed it wouldn't be long. Even if, by some miracle, the others managed to find a way to get the freaking wall off me, I was beyond any means of healing already. And then something else occurred to me._

" _D-Diana!" I cried out, going nearly hysterical. "The.. bra-bracelet!"_

_I knew she'd understand. She'd asked me for more than enough details in every part of my story to understand. I was dying, and I didn't want Loki to die with me. I didn't even know if it would happen; had no idea how Odin throwing me elsewhere might have affected; but considering that I was still cancer free… I'd rather not take any chances._

_Diana knelt beside my extended arm and I could vaguely feel her fingers on my wrist, barely touching the cuff-bracelet. I'd begun wearing it openly since sharing my story. There was no reason to hide it, and it made me feel closer to him, much like my flute…_

_I could only just feel Diana pressing on the golden bracelet, probably looking for a way to break it (not like I could have given her the key, when it was was in the same bag with my flute, hanging on my opposite hip), I could only hope she had the strength for it. I wanted to tell her to hurry up, that we were running out of time (that my love, even if he'd never known he was my love, was running out of time), and then there were noises, movement. I didn't understand what was going on, until suddenly there was someone kneeling beside Diana: Queen Hippolyta._

" _Diana, help me." she ordered her daughter. "Drink this child."_

_I was half gone already, not really seeing anything, and only half seeing as Diana did her best to raise my head, just enough for her mother to press the edge of what felt like a cup against my lips. The liquid that was tipped into my mouth was thick enough it seemed to coat the inside of my mouth before sliding down my throat, it was fragrant, and sweeter than any honey I'd ever tasted. I swallowed just once, and then it hit me what it was I was drinking, right at the same time I realized that my mind was clearing up rather than clouding further. Ambrosia…_

_I said nothing, having no idea what to say. All I could do was stare at Queen Hippolyta. I had a feeling a lot was going to change…_

I was right. A lot did change. While no official ceremonies or anything of the like ever took place, from that day on I was considered as the Queen's adopted daughter, Diana's younger sister. When I asked Antiope why they'd done it I was told that they believed I was meant to be family. The way Diana and I had connected… she might have friends in many of the other amazons, but none had she ever been as close to, as she was to me. Also, apparently I tempered the princess, she seemed to be less inclined to do crazy things since I was around. While I wasn't sure how much I believed the latter, I agreed we were close. I was honored to join their family.

The ambrosia changed more things than I ever expected. It wasn't just the immortality, though that was a given (and for the first time since waking up among pirates, I had hope that one day I might find my way back to Loki…). I had always been a sensitive child; the day I'd first met Loki, I told him I knew when someone was good or bad, I'd always seen it as instincts. As I grew up, that 'instinct' had grown, and knowing magic and gifts were real I had indeed considered the possibility that I might be gifted, if only a little… I had no idea how big a thing that empathy could be until after I drank the ambrosia. And it didn't stop there.

It happened slowly, almost in stages. First was the empathy. Then one day I found myself healing one of the girls after she slipped during sword practice and ended with a deep slash on one arm. The strangest thing of all though, was that I didn't even feel surprised at being able to do that. It was something new, and yet at the same time it didn't feel new at all. As if a part of me had always known I was supposed to do that. The final part, was the magic. I was quite sure it was Loki's magic. And it wasn't easy for me to do it. I didn't know if it was being in a different world or the fact that it just wasn't mine. At least I managed to teach myself how to call on a shield, a shockwave, and short-distance teleporting.

I trained as a warrior at Antiope's insistence. We had a bit of a hard time at first, because I just did not have the instincts of a warrior. It was next to impossible to get me to attack. I could defend just fine, but attack… that was another matter entirely. Until the day Antiope turned abruptly in the last moment and moved against Diana (who was already finished with her training and taking a breath). My reaction was instinctive then, as I pulled the closest short blade and threw it at Antiope. The knife went through her hand, the pain forcing her to drop her sword. I was shocked, completely aghast by the whole thing, she was proud. And so I trained.

I never knew exactly how long I spent in Themyscira. Much as I might miss my home, much as I wanted to see my family, to see Loki again, to reassure them all that I was alright… I liked the island, the amazons were my friends, and Diana, Hippolyta and Antiope part of my family. And then a man crash-landed less than a mile from our beach…

In the time (the years, decades) that I'd been in Themyscira I somehow managed to forget how insane things could get; how quickly things could happen, how fast time could pass. Then there was that war-plane crashing into the sea, Diana leaping off a cliff to save the pilot, over half a dozen boats, each full of armed soldiers, following, reaching the island! The battle began before I could quite comprehend what was going on, and then there was no time to do anything other than shoot arrow after arrow and focus on not-thinking about the men that were quite probably dying by those very same arrows (at least I'd never have to know for sure how many I killed, since I was not the only one shooting arrows at them).

I didn't realize it when the first of the amazons fell, not really. I did notice when Antiope fell though, to a bullet that had been meant for Diana. I was on the move even before anyone thought to call for me. Getting the bullet out was a gritty, awful thing, but it was necessary. The healing wasn't absolute, it couldn't be, but it was enough for her to survive.

The man… Steve Trevor, his name was Steve Trevor. His interrogation reminded me powerfully of my own, however many years prior. The way he fought against the lasso… the amazons saw an unworthy man wanting to lie, I saw an honorable man fighting to keep secrets he believed his life depended on. And then he mentioned the war. World War I… Stars!

In all the years since Odin had pushed me out of the Bifrost I'd stopped to consider where exactly I was in relation to my home a great many times. I was usually inclined to believe I had fallen into a parallel world; not one of the Nine Realms themselves, but some smaller world, dimension or whatever where the Greek/Roman pantheon was (or had been) more than a myth. It never, not for one second, occurred to me that I might be in my world, only in a different time, in the past… Of course, just Trevor mentioning the war was no guarantee that it was my world; for all I knew it could still be a parallel world, just one that was more similar to mine than expected and yet… after getting the idea into my head, I just couldn't let it go.

Of course Diana wanted to go with him, to 'Man's World' and help with the war. So convinced she was that Ares was the reason of it all… and while I wouldn't say that couldn't be true, I did believe her notion that the whole war would end, that peace would be ensured just by killing Ares, I thought that idea was naive at best, dangerous at worst. So of course I was going with her (and while the possibility of finding my way home, eventually, was an incentive, Diana was the main reason for my choice).

_Hippolyta wasn't surprised at all by my choice. She just smiled at me as I packed a couple of changes of clothes, including my actual battle armor (it was different from what the amazons wore, as I preferred clothes that covered me more, but still), my bow and arrows and a short sword (which I didn't like much, but was a last resource)._

" _I will look after her." I promised her._

" _Make sure you look after yourself too." She stated softly but seriously._

Trevor didn't say a word when I joined them in the little boat. I probably wasn't the kind of back-up he was expecting. Anyone could see I didn't have the physical strength and endurance of the amazons. But he'd seen me save Antiope (even if he hadn't the slightest idea how I'd done it) and it was obvious that they needed all the help they could help. So he just thanked me and we were on our way.

London was… it was both better and worse than I expected. It was one more mark to my possibly truly being in my world, even if way out of my time; which wasn't as huge an obstacle when I was, for all intents and purposes, immortal (I still had trouble getting my head around that some times). I helped Trevor and Miss Candy get both Diana and myself into appropriate clothes, and I could tell they were both confused, even if the latter was more confused by Diana's total lack of knowledge about some things, while the former was more confused by my own ease with handling the same things. It was almost funny, might have been funny if the war hadn't been raging and we didn't have a mission to get to.

I knew something was off with Mr. Morgan since the moment we met. There was just… he felt off, in a way I couldn't quite explain. It wasn't darkness, not exactly, but just being too close to him made it so I thought I could smell an almost sickening mix of blood and sulfur…

The second time I surprised Trevor was when people just kept seemingly not-noticing me. He only noticed it the third or so time it happened. When he'd to repeat the story he'd made up about Diana 'Prince' being his secretary; and then he realized no one was asking about me, that no one seemed to even notice me. He demanded if I was making myself invisible, to which I just had to laugh, before explaining to him I wasn't doing anything of the sort. I just… I was small, and wore plain clothes, it was easy for people to overlook me. He'd have done the same if he hadn't first seen me on that beach in Themyscira, as a warrior.

The trip to the Western Front was somewhat less dangerous than I expected it to be, and yet at the same time a lot more depressing. Of the many things I knew (had read) about war, none of the books, none of the scholars had even conveyed the amount of sadness, of depression, of outright desolation to be found in, or that close, to a battlefield. Then we reached No-Man's-Land.

Our tread through that particular battlefield was an event that would probably be remembered by everyone who'd been present. I almost laughed, because I remembered reading accounts of it, so varying, and some that seemed so ludicrous… even knowing gifted existed, what some said had happened in that place, on that day, didn't seem quite possible. Until I found myself right there, being part of one piece of history I had never fully believed.

Veld… Veld was a walking contradiction. A war had been taking place there (or close enough for it to amount to the same) for years, and it was obvious, in the buildings, the people, the lack of resources. And yet the people were so kind, so willing to share what little they had with us. They called us heroes, and I just didn't think we deserved it, a thought I knew the others shared. So I did my best, if not to earn it, at least to give as much as we were being given. I methodically went through the whole village, healing everyone I could. Everything from scratches and bruises, to badly healed wounds, even some sicknesses. It wasn't perfect, I couldn't heal everything, but even then, I did all I could, until I could stand no more and fell asleep on the closest bed.

The downside to that being that I didn't wake up until more than twelve hours later, and since I'd spent more than half the night going from house to house healing that was very late indeed. I wasn't surprised at all to learn that the others had left me behind. Trevor and Diana… they were each so hyper-focused on their missions, he didn't think I'd be useful, while she probably didn't want me in danger; and neither of them stopped to consider what I'd feel being left behind. Though as it happens, in the end I felt nothing except, perhaps, relief.

I sensed it. The moment everything went wrong I knew. I could sense Diana's mix of anger, fear that was even then moving onto terror, desperation… regardless of how far we might be from each other. We were family, I could always connect with her. I had no idea what was going on exactly, but my instincts were screaming at me to run, so I ran, and I made sure everyone in Veld ran with me. Never knew how I managed it exactly; but somehow I managed to convince people that something was most definitely wrong. In any other situation that kind of response, people being willing to drop everything, to abandon what little they owned, their very homes, to follow me just because I told them they needed to… it would have floored me. When it was all said and done it certainly humbled and honored me at the same time. In that moment all I could feel was relief. Especially after I got myself a horse and made my way back, to find Veld covered in a cloud of orange smoke that burned me even with the ambrosia making me more than human.

By the time I made it to the military base, and specifically the airstrip, things were so far out of control that for a moment I hadn't the slightest idea what to do. Diana was fighting Ares (who happened to be Mr. Morgan, I'd known there was something off about him!) and I knew there was nothing I could do to help her; immortal or not, they were so far out of my league it wasn't funny. Trevor… Steve's (he'd insisted I call him Steve while in Veld) friends were in the process of blowing up the factory. I was considering helping with that, when my eyes turned to the war-plane taking-off, and I sensed Steve right there… I had no idea back then how it had happened, how I could suddenly sense Steve like that. I just knew I could, and the fact that he was on that plane… I just knew something was off. So I didn't even stop to think about it, I ran as fast as my legs could carry me, throwing myself onto the plane at the very last second. When Steve finally realized I was there (by which time we were several thousand feet off the ground, and still going up), he definitely didn't like it.

" _What are you doing here?!" He demanded, harshly._

" _I could ask you the same question, but I've a feeling I already know the answer." I answered in my most deadpan tone._

" _You cannot be here Aidóni." His tone changed to tired._

" _Yet here is where I am." I replied calmly, then added for good measure: "I'm not letting you sacrifice yourself Steve. You're not doing that to yourself; but especially, you're not doing that to Diana. I refuse to allow it."_

_Some people had such a romanticized idea of sacrifice… they thought that because they did it for love it was alright, but what about that very person (or people) they loved? The ones they were leaving behind… did they really think their loved ones would be happy afterwards? I knew Diana wouldn't be; because in that moment, standing before Steve Trevor, I understood with perfect clarity why I could suddenly sense his emotions so clearly. It was only supposed to be like that with family and… well, he was family, after all. He was bound to my sister!_

" _What can you possibly do?" He asked, he sounded so tired, so hopeless…_

_I didn't even think about it, as I laid two fingers on his neck I sent him hope, acceptance, faith. And he took the emotions in, made them his own. He had to have known I was doing something but he didn't reject it, in fact, he embraced it completely._

" _You get this plane high enough that the gas won't be a danger to anyone down there. We make sure it'll blow up and then I'll make sure we get back down in one piece." I stated._

" _What, like you'll magic us down there?" He snorted._

" _Something like that." I replied, very blasé._

_It was funny because, he'd seen me fight, and he'd seen me heal, yet it probably had never occurred to him that that wasn't the extent of my abilities._

So I waited for him to declare we were high enough, prayed that I wouldn't get us (or him) killed by teleporting that long distance. Waited until the exact moment when he shot the canisters with the gas, and then 'flipped the switch' on the magic. It was insane, because I really couldn't teleport that kind of distance, so instead I teleported us to the middle of the sky, twice, before we finally landed on the ground. We both fell in a tangle of limbs the moment we reached the ground and I wasn't sure if Steve was about to throw up on me or scream my ear off for subjecting him to that. In the end he did neither. Instead he laughed, a laugh that was loud, long and bordering on hysteria; which was only broken when he began coughing instead. Then I was the one laughing at him. Diana found us like that, right after defeating Ares. She clearly had no idea what could possibly be so funny, but just the fact that we were all alive, that Steve had survived, was probably enough for her for the time being.

Then something went wrong, because of course something always has to go wrong. It wasn't evident right away. With everyone so busy with the armistice and the end of the war there was no way for us to get back to London anytime fast. Also, Diana just wanted so much to help, and Steve wasn't one to tell her no. So we took our time, stopping in every town in our way, helping all we could, anyway we could. It wasn't a bad thing, so many people needed so much help, and while we couldn't help everyone with everything, there were some for whom our mere presence seemed to already be making such a difference. One woman actually tried to explain it to me, said that we brought with us hope, and sometimes that was enough.

We had just reached Calais, where we would be getting passage into England, when Steve cried out in pain. It was Diana who first saw the chemical burns. Apparently the skin of his hands, neck and face had been reddened for a couple of days, tender, but they never expected that. The moment I saw him I knew exactly what it was and I couldn't believe it hadn't occurred to me before. I knew history! I knew about the mustard gas! The thing the freaking plane we'd blown up (or, technically, he'd blown up) was carrying. But I was alright, and it somehow never occurred to me to think that he might not be.

I got to healing him immediately, and after some efforts the chemical burns gave way. It was when he began coughing, spitting blood, that we realized the gas had burned more than just his skin. I couldn't heal his lungs. That kind of thing… it was too delicate and too serious a job for my magic. I healed by picturing how things must be, and things like skin, muscles and even bones were easy enough. Internal organs? Not so much. I wasn't a doctor, not even a nurse, so I didn't have even the most basic knowledge of how things should be, and even if I'd had it there was no guarantee that would have been enough.

_When the idea finally came to me, the third night in Calais, I couldn't imagine why I hadn't thought of it before. It was the middle f the night and I woke up for no apparent reason. Even the constant pain both Steve and Diana were feeling, each in their own way, wasn't enough to wake me up. But right then I did. My hand reached for my flute automatically, hoping some music might help clear my head._

_As we'd discovered after a wall had fallen on me, the bag was spelled, it was how my black jade dizi managed to survive that mess. Only when I slipped my hand inside, the first thing my fingers touched wasn't the stone flute, but instead something else: a phial. I pulled it out automatically. It was made completely of gold, spelled so only Queen Hippolyta or I could open it; we were also probably the ones who knew that phial existed, what its contents were, and who it was that had it, exactly._

_The moment I fully comprehended everything I was on the move. We were staying in a small, abandoned cottage the people in the town had granted us use of after we'd helped as many of them as we could. Diana was up on her feet the moment I slipped into the room but I paid her no heed, instead I went straight to where Steve was trying (and failing) to get some sleep. I dropped to my knees beside the bed, lifting his head carefully and pressing the opened phial to his lips._

" _Drink this." Was all I told him._

_A credit to his trust in me, he didn't question what it was I was giving him, he drank it. Then he smiled briefly at me, closed his eyes, and fell asleep._

" _What was that?" Diana asked, a mix of confusion and hope in her voice. "What did you just give him Aidóni?"_

" _A gift that was mine to give." I whispered, mostly to myself. "Ambrosia."_

From the beginning, the amazons had had just enough ambrosia for two people. Hippolyta had explained it to me. She hadn't known who it was meant for, just that she'd know when the time came. And indeed, she had known, as I'd laid there, my body broken underneath the fallen wall. So she'd given me one of the doses, and then sealed the other and gave me the phial. She'd meant it to be for my love (all the amazons were convinced that Loki was, indeed, my love, despite the fact that we'd never kissed, never even confessed our feelings and, insane as it might seem, I couldn't help but believe the same). But Loki did not need ambrosia, he was immortal enough on his own. I had told the Queen that, to which she said it was still meant for me, my gift alone to give to whom I may… and I'd made my choice that night. Or who knew? Perhaps I'd made it from the very moment I realized Diana and Steve were bound, even if I didn't acknowledged it until that very night.

In the morning Steve was healed, he was also immortal.

We were, finally, on the ship back to England, when I could hold back no more. So much had happened; and while we all had been so completely focused on Diana and Steve; with that mess passed, I couldn't but think about me, and about the world around me. I wasn't sure how I was suddenly so confident about it, but in that moment I had no doubt that I was, in fact, in my own world. I was on Earth, in my own universe; granted, almost a century in the past, but thanks to Hippolyta's gift, I could work around that. Which meant that I was going to find my way back to Loki, even if I had to take the long road there! The emotions that conviction brought with it… they were so much I couldn't even touch anyone, afraid as I was to force those emotion upon them, but I couldn't just hold them in either, so I needed another outlet. I didn't realize it until after I'd already begun; the fact that I was singing a new song for the first time since that night:

" _I'll find my way back_

_Into the dark to chase your heart_

_No distance could ever tear us apart_

_There's nothing that I wouldn't do_

_I'll find my way back to you"_

" _There's nothing that I wouldn't do_

_I'll find my way back to you_

_I'll find my way back to you_

_I'll find my way back"_

_I sensed them even before I finished singing but I paid them no heed, I just… I needed to let it all out, so I did that. I sang and sang, weaving my emotions: my grief, my hope, my love, into every single word, every piece of the melody. And once it was over, it was like I could finally breathe…_

" _You have quite the gifted voice, little goddess." Chief commented, almost offhandedly, as he looked at me._

_I was sure I wasn't imagining the double-meaning in his words, but either no one else had noticed, or they simply didn't care about it. In the end I pushed it aside, if it mattered, it'd come up at some point._

It did end up mattering, though not as much as some might have expected. Chief being different in his own way didn't really affect us much. Though he did gift me a beautiful Blackfoot copper knife, which I always kept in a hidden sheathe down the length of my back, for emergencies. It was spelled to be forever sharp, undetectable, and once Chief bound it to me it could never be used against me; and an armband, to shield me from prying eyes.

Upon our return to London we found out that Miss Candy (Etta, she insisted that I call her that) had been very busy, making arrangements for Diana and I to have new identities; and while she kept the name Steve had first called her: Diana Prince, I became Aidóni Morgan, Sir Patrick's daughter and heiress… I would have been horrified, but Etta's and Steve's (who'd been the one to have the idea, in fact) logic was sound not only in that I needed an identity, but we could very well use Sir Patrick's considerable resources; it's not like he'd need them anymore. It was justice, of a sort. In the end it was something we could live with. It's not like anyone expected me to talk about my 'father', as they all believed me to have been living with my mother; also I managed to convince them to make Diana into my older half-sister, which reinforced her own identity and justified us being so close.

It surprised absolutely no one when Diana gave birth to hers and Steve's daughter less than a year after the end of the war. They called her Hippolyta (Lyta for short). They were already married by then and we were all living in what had been Morgan's townhouse in downtown London. Diana and I got jobs in the library as translators (the people there loved us and how many languages we knew), while Steve was technically still in the army but wasn't active anymore, instead he would teach young soldiers to be pilots. Charlie had been officially discharged and returned to his native Scotland, where he eventually found a good woman, married her and had two children with her, a boy and a girl. Sameer got his dream to be an actor, he married a gorgeous woman called Jasmine and had three daughters with her. Etta was already married, and we got to meet her husband: and daughter, and the three children that came in the following years. Chief… he went back to his wanderings, first through Europe than back to America, he was happier that way.

Perhaps the greatest shock I got in those years was when Etta's youngest child: Eileen, married none other than August Salani, to later on become parents to two children: Kathryn and Sebastian. The world was so small…

In between all that, we went through a second war. That… it broke us in many ways. First there was Diana's denial. Even if we'd made her understand that just killing Ares wasn't enough, that not all people were good, and all that… she still couldn't understand why some people just seemed to want to kill others. For that matter, neither did I. I knew it happened, of course I did, I was a historian, after all. But that didn't mean I could understand what could possibly be going through some people's heads to do things like that (and I hoped I never would).

We didn't want to get involved, not in any of it, not at first. And then Lyta went and became a nurse. She didn't leave England, but still, she was a part of things. The rest of us just followed her after that. I actually took the same training she did and became a nurse, using my gifts where I could without calling too much attention. Steve and Diana… they went to France and joined a group of 'freedom fighters'. They helped spy on the Nazis, and aided fleeing Jews where they could. Even our friends, who were no longer up to actually joining a war, helped save Jews where they could. Together all of us we managed to save a great many lives.

It didn't change all the people that died. And even if it was true we just couldn't save everyone. It was bad. Diana had actually been to a concentration camp; she was so furious she brought the whole place down, while Steve helped the innocents escape. They never talked about the things they saw there, but I knew they were bad. So much that once the war was over the two of them basically withdrew from society.

They left me. I don't think they realized it at the time, and I don't really blame them. Diana was so deeply into despair after what they'd witnessed, and Steve just wanted to help her get better. Lyta was making a life for herself, studying to become a full-fledged nurse. Our friends all had their lives and I… I was a grown woman who was supposed to be in her forties yet didn't look it. Who had no idea what to do with her life. Yes, I knew where I wanted to be eventually, and who I wanted to be with, but I had no idea what to do until we got to that point…

So I left London and began wandering, first through Europe, but the devastation from the war… while I liked helping people, so much damage everywhere wasn't helping me move on from all the darkness, the despair, the horror I'd felt (both my own and of others). So I traveled all the way to Spain and caught the first ship to America.

It was there that I met a young Lillian Arlene Solomon. She was an heiress to a rich family, and like many in her position, she was almost always alone. Later down the line I could never remember when or even how exactly we became friends. I knew she was intrigued by me. She wanted to be an artist and was always dropping by the art-school in Metropolis where I gave music classes to some students.

I didn't have a very strong identity back then, going by Eos Arienne Ross. I had no idea where Lillian had gotten me legal papers, or why exactly she'd decided to change my name to Eos Arienne Solomon. I cared for her though, so I did not try that hard to stop her. She was nothing like Diana, but still like a sister to me; she was family, and I needed that so much at the time…

Lily and I came to care deeply for each other through the years, we also understood each other and rarely argued. Oh, we had our difference of opinion, but it rarely got to the point of us actually fighting about it. Lionel Luthor was one such reason. I didn't like him. The man was… wrong, there was a darkness in him that I hadn't felt the likes of since the war, and that alone was enough to send all kind of red-flags up in my mind. But Lily loved him… no matter how much I might insist, she was young and in love.

Lionel tried to send me away once. Told me that if I wasn't going to support them then I could very well walk away. He tried to make it sound like I was hurting Lily by being there yet not supporting her choices, yet I knew there was more. So I told Lionel, very clearly, where he could take that idea. He never actually tried to threaten me, I could tell he wanted to, he'd made more than one veiled comment about my secretive past. He knew I wasn't really a Solomon, but he did not know just where I came from… he didn't like that. Not knowing things, not being able to control things completely; he hated it. I didn't care.

Alexander… he was probably the best thing that ever happened, in my life, in all our lives. He was such a perfect baby… Lionel was such a bastard to him, which didn't surprise me at all. Still, Lily made me the boy's godmother, so I did my best to be there for him, for both of them. I would never know if Lily really was in that much denial about Lionel for forever, or if she just didn't know how to get out of a very bad situation. She kept trying to get the man to be more interested in his son, to the point of pushing him to take Lex with him to Smallville one day. She regretted it hours later, when we heard about the meteor shower that had just struck that very town…

Lex survived the meteor shower, thank the stars; but he did not do so unscathed. He no longer had asthma, which was very surprising, though I managed to convince both him and Lily not to let Lionel in on that fact. Didn't want to think what a bastard like him might do, even to his own son. Also, Lex had lost all of his hair… it was heartbreaking, to see Lex bend at the bullying, from both those at his school, and at times even Lionel himself.

It all came to a head in '92. Things kept deteriorating between Lionel and Lily, something I didn't even believe was possible. Lily was heavily pregnant with her second child, and the way the two of them kept fighting… I was afraid something might happen to both her and the baby so I did my best to stay close, while at the same time protecting Lex from the whole thing. The last one wasn't that hard, with him being at boarding-school for most of the year. Lex had made me promise to protect his mom, something that had been completely unnecessary as I was already going to do exactly that… still. I understood why he did it.

" _If I leave Lionel, will you help me keep the boys safe?" Laura asked me._

_I was in the study, looking through a translation one last time before sending it in. I'd begun doing some freelance translating work to earn more money. It's not like I was poor, but I'd rather be ready. Still, Lily suddenly entering the room and saying that… it caught me so much by surprise I needed a few seconds to believe that she'd really said what I thought she'd said._

" _I will protect you all." I assure her._

So we packed our bags and left. The Solomons had passed away years prior, the townhouse was in Lily's name, and she'd made sure Lionel couldn't claim it (she'd pretty much twisted the pre-nup he wanted her to sign into something that would protect her own fortune just as much, making her children her heirs with me as executor). Lionel was away on business, probably had no idea of what was going on until he got the divorce papers. Then things went insane.

When Lionel went to 'talk' to Lily I let him in begrudgingly. They ended having an argument so bad Lily almost had a miscarriage. I practically kicked him out of the house then. Things only got worse from there. Lionel didn't try again himself, but he didn't give up either. He refused to give Lily the divorce and threatened to take the children from her. The whole thing escalated when Lily in turned threatened to accuse him of murder; the murders of Robert and Laura Queen, to be precise. It was then that Lionel sent mercenaries after us, and I was forced to put them down forcefully. Which in turn called the attention of the Justice Society of America and eventually of my own siblings.

It was Steve himself (by then going by the name of Stefan Rockwell) who found the missing piece of evidence so Lionel could be charge by the murders of Mr. and Mrs. Queen. It was also enough to open an investigation over the deaths of his parents (unsurprisingly, he ended being responsible for those too). Diana of course had followed Steve, and while Lyta was still doing her own thing in Europe, they had another child, a girl in her late teens called Helena. I couldn't believe I'd missed so much, the birth and almost twenty years in the life of my niece… and yet I couldn't regret walking away. I had needed to, at the time. Only… I never expected to be gone for so long, it had been almost fifty years! Being immortal was really messing with the way I viewed time. To the point that I didn't realize until that very moment that my younger self had been born months earlier; I was so close to my goal, and I hadn't even noticed…

" _Thanks for coming." I whispered after it was all said and done, the divorce through, Lionel in prison (where he'd be staying for the rest of his not-so-long life) and Julian had just been born._

" _Of course we came, why wouldn't we come?" Diana scoffed right then._

_Steve got it though._

" _You're still family Aidóni." He murmured, a hand on my shoulder. "I… I know we made mistakes, when we left you..."_

" _No!" I shook my head emphatically. "I don't blame you for that. I never could. You did what you had to, to get better. As did I."_

" _We should have been there for you." Steve insisted._

" _There's nothing you could have done for me." I tried to be kind, yet firm at the same time. "You were hurting, both of you. You needed to find a way to get better yourselves. And I needed to do the same. Perhaps it was not the best way, but it worked out in the end. Also… I cannot regret it. If things hadn't been the way they were I might have never ended here, never met Lily, and Lex and baby Julian… I could never regret any of them."_

" _Well," Diana decided to get things back on track. "Introduce us to this family of yours then."_

Lily died in the spring of 1993. It didn't take any of us by surprise, not really. She'd been sick for months by then, since shortly after Julian's birth. She made sure the boys would go into my custody, and since we already shared the same surname (and legally I was Lily's sister), it was easy enough.

I was technically also in charge of Lillian's burgeoning company: Solomon Pharmaceuticals. They specialized in medical research and seeking FDA approval of certain rare drugs. I knew nothing about medicine, or chemistry, so I found someone and put him in charge instead, until Lex was the right age to take over (if that was something he wanted to do, I'd never force him).

In 1996 I got the chance to pay back the favor the JSA had done for me when helping with the mercenaries Lionel had sent after us, by being in just the right place, at the right time. I managed to help deliver the baby of one of them, as well as save the mother from bleeding out.

Lex never called me anything other than Aunt Eos, and I respected that, I'd never want to take Lily's place in his heart. But for Julian… Lily had died before he was even a year old, I was the only mother he'd ever known, and he called me that. Though Lex and I made sure he knew who Lillian had been, and how much she'd loved him (Lionel could be forgotten, scratched from history, as far as we were all concerned).

In 2001 Lex graduated Summa Cum Laude with a double Major in Chemistry and Admin. We spent the summer, all of us, having the time of our lives, traveling the world. Steve and Diana were with us too; Helena had since married and even had a daughter of her own: Cassie. When summer ended we all had to go back to our real lives. Diana and Steve were still taking time for themselves, having recently dropped out of their previous identities and picked up new ones; this time as Esteban and Diane Burke. Julian (age nine) was going back to school, while Lex decided to dive straight in and take over SP. The main HQ were right there in Metropolis, in the top floor of what had once been the Luthor Corp building (most of which had been subleased to other companies); yet Lex soon decided he wanted to be where things were actually happening, so near the end of the first week of October, he left for Smallville…

Smallville… was a mess not a single one of us could have ever prepared for. Just on the very first day Lex got into such trouble that I could hardly believe it. He hadn't even made it to the town itself when he went off a bridge and almost drowned! It all went downhill from there. More than once I considered straight out moving into Smallville to keep a closer eye on things, Julian was all for it in fact, but I didn't want it to seem like I didn't trust him, so in the end I didn't.

I was there for him when that freaky bitch, black-widow wanna-be tried to manipulate him into marrying her and then getting rid of him. I was also there for him, if in a different manner, when another woman sought him, seduced him, and then it was revealed she wanted him for money and status, rather than for him (Julian had been the one to discover that, entirely by accident).

I knew, almost from the start, that there was something very wrong with Smallville, Kansas. The kind of things that happened in that town. I hadn't the slightest idea how no one realized it, not even SHIELD. My only consolation was that at some point Steve had managed to convince Lex to hire him; he acted mainly as his driver/bodyguard; the fact that he could also pilot any kind of aircraft being a bonus. Diana took position as his PA, though she stayed in Metropolis most of the week, taking care of things there, before heading to Smallville for the weekends. That gave me some breathing room, knowing Lex had some backup whenever things went crazy (because as it happened, the crazy happened half the time around him, and if he wasn't the reason, Lex's new best friend: Clark Kent, was). Of course I knew Clark Kent was… different. But as long as he didn't hurt my family, I had no reason to hurt him. I had nothing against him being… whatever he might be (which, as we'd eventually find out, was way beyond anything any of us could have ever imagined possible).

I would never know when exactly Clark Kent trusted Lex enough to tell him the truth about himself, his origins. Lex was too good a friend, too loyal to ever betray such a confidence, and I was glad for that, for both of them. Eventually I was brought in though, and I was glad for that too, for the team, the extended family that was slowly forming all around us. It reminded me a bit about the team we'd had back in the war (the first war); war might not have brought us together, but the bonds were just as tight, and they all went around Clark and Lex, they were as good as brothers (Julian definitely loved that, had no compunction about claiming Clark as a brother too, and everyone else along with him).

It all came to a head mid-May of 2005. The Stones of Power had been gathered. It was Lex's idea to call us to be there when they were united, in case something happened. And Clark trusted him enough to agree. And so we gathered in a secret chamber of the Kawatche caves: Clark, Lex, Chloe Sullivan (at her own insistence), Patricia Swann (heiress of Virgil Swann and, along with Lex, all that was left of the secret society known as Veritas), and myself. Diana and Steve were keeping watch outside; things had apparently been very tense the last few months, since the Teagues' arrival to town. It had been one hell of a mess I knew very little of until it was all said and done, but it apparently had ended with the son dead (he'd been trying to kill Lex and Patricia just like, apparently, he and his mom had been involved with her father's death, and Lionel's -in prison-). Clark had gotten there just in time to save Lex and Trish, leaving Jason to his fate. Genevieve had gone nuts when finding out, roaring all kinds of threats against everyone, which got her arrested. Diana and Steve were there in case she managed to escape; the woman was beyond obsessed with the kryptonian artifacts.

We knew something was going to happen when the Stones were united. Being transported to the Arctic and watching the fused kryptonian crystal burrow itself into the ice and snow only to have an ice and crystal rise… that still took us by surprise. And then came the sociopathic AI… Clark had warned us all, about how his father, or the remains of him, was completely insane, bent on him becoming a conqueror, which Clark wanted nothing to do with. We knew all that, and were at least somewhat prepared for what he/it might have to say… it still didn't stop the reactions from all of us, especially my own.

" _Kal-El… you have traveled far…" a disembodied voice began, then… then it seemed to notice us, and its voice changed completely. "Humans have no place in this sanctuary Kal-El! This is your home, the last peace of the great Krypton and humans are lesser beings who do not deserve to set foot on it. Our heritage is…"_

_It wasn't even just the voice, frigid winds were all around, Chloe was curled up around herself, as closely pressed to Clark as she could. Trish was on the floor, shaking, with Lex trying to cover her and himself at the same time. Seeing them, I snapped._

" _Is nothing, nothing at all without us humans!" I snarled at him._

" _You dare speak to me?!" His voice sounded so pedantic…_

" _I dare do that, and so much more." I retorted. "I am the Nightingale, I may be human but I certainly have more honor than you do. You're dead! Or your template is dead, whichever! It's thanks to humans that this piece of Krypton has survived, that it was recovered, that your son lives even now. And you dare see humans as less! You would be nothing if it weren't for humans. Not even a memory, because there would be no one to carry that memory, no one to have to put up with you so I hope you get your bloody circuits straight and start thinking before spouting such stupid bullshit!" I took a breath and then added. "Now stop with the frigging winds before I take this whole place down and make you."_

_I was bluffing, but the AI… computer… memory… whichever, couldn't have known that._

_The winds stopped, and not only that, but the temperature rose enough that we weren't all in danger of getting frostbite anymore._

" _That was…" Chloe coughed a bit as she straightened up, looking straight at me. "That was totally awesome Miss Solomon."_

" _Eos, just call me Eos." I answered kindly._

" _You claimed your name to be Nightingale." The AI spoke loudly._

" _Throughout the years I've had many names." I answered serenely. "They all mean the same thing: Nightingale."_

_They did too: Aidóni, Rossignol, Slavik, Solovey, Yeying, Philomela, Eos… I'd had all those names, or variations of them, and they all, indeed, meant the same in the end: nightingale. The name Loki had given me once. It was my tether as much as the memory of him was._

" _The Historian." Jor-El called me._

" _What…?" It's not that I didn't know what a historian was, I technically was one. Still, I had a feeling that Jor-El meant something different; and I was right._

" _What are you planning this time Jor-El?" Clark sounded just as doubtful as I felt._

" _You've refused my guidance before Kal-El…" The AI/Jor-El began._

" _Because you insist on me being a conqueror, and I have no interest in that." Clark retorted. "I want to help, not rule. This is my life, they should be my choices."_

" _And they shall be." Jor-El's reply surprised us all. "Lady Nightingale is right, in my insistence to make of you what I believed you needed to be I've hurt you, I've dishonored the choice my own template, the real Jor-El, made when he decided to send you not just to this planet, but to the Kents in the very first place. I shall force your hand no longer."_

" _Thank you." It was clear Clark had no idea what else to say._

" _Forget not Kal-El, you may live among humans, but you're not one of them." Jor-El insisted. "There are things you need to know, of your past, of your history. To learn all that, you will need more than just recordings, you will need a Historian."_

" _That's what you called me…" I murmured, beginning to understand._

" _You're more than human." The being turned his attention onto me. "You could endure a download. Receive the information, and then impart it upon my son… and those of his friends who might wish to learn."_

" _Why not use this download on him?" I was curious about that._

" _Because he doesn't understand the intricacies of history the way you do." It almost sounded like the AI was complimenting me; I wasn't sure if that was good, or creepy._

" _What does that mean?" Clark and Chloe asked almost at the same time._

" _History… many try to simplify it, but it's not just about what happened." I tried my best to explain. "It goes beyond 'versions' of things. Because, there are always different versions of any given event; and they're all right and they're all wrong, because they're shaped by the person who experienced them. We all could write a chronic of what's happening right now and we'd end up with five different versions of the exact same event. That's the point of history. It's not about who's right and who's wrong, but learning to understand the intricacies of it, the way all the pieces fit together into a much more complex whole."_

" _That is correct." Jor-El sounded definitely approving._

" _I'll do it." I decided abruptly, not giving myself time to reconsider or doubt myself. "I'll be your Historian Jor-El."_

_And so my life changed… again._

Having the whole history of a race pretty much pushed into my head wasn't exactly a walk in the park. And granted, I didn't actually get the whole history 'downloaded' into my brain or anything. It was more like… a guideline, in order for me to be able to go through the actual records in the Fortress and better understand them, so I might teach them to Clark, and whoever else might want to learn (Chloe and Lex for sure).

The funny thing was, it wasn't Jor-El who actually made me the Historian, I'd already used that title before, with some people I'd met through the years; I'd always call myself Nightingale, and tell them I was a Historian. Jor-El's actions just seemed to make it all the more official.

It took a while, but eventually I had the great honor of watching Lex, the boy who was as much my son as if I'd given birth to him, child of the second woman I'd come to see as a sister, marry the love of his life: Trish Swann. Both of them also came to be closely connected to a new team of superheroes, born from the remains of the JSA, the kryptonians (we found Clark's cousin, Kara Zor-El months after the Fortress was formed), and a group of metas from Smallville and other places across the country: the Justice League. Julian even managed to convince Steve to teach him how to pilot so he could get involved as well.

Then came early summer of 2009… the day everything had begun, and ended.

**xXx**

At first I didn't say a word, just walked across the half-destroyed garden. I took a moment to imagine exactly what would happen if I didn't intervene. Aunt Kathryn would go ballistic the moment she arrived to find that mess, SHIELD would end up involved sooner or later. And the world so wasn't ready for that. I wasn't sure when, if ever, they'd be. It had been different during the war, both with us, and with the other group, during WWII, the one lead by the man they called Captain America… during war people didn't ask too many questions, not when you were saving their lives. Also, Odin. While I knew I'd have to face him one day, that wouldn't be yet. Not until I'd found Loki, which probably wouldn't be easy considering what the bastard had already done to keep us apart, but I wasn't the kind to just give up.

So with that in mind I pulled the copper knife from its sheathe and dropped to one knee, using the whole weight of my body to drive the blade into the earth, at the very center of the burnt runic circle created by the Bifrost. There was an effect of displaced air, similar to what happened with an explosion, except nothing was damaged, the whole opposite in fact. The burn disappeared, the plants were restored. All that was left of the fight was the broken glass-sliding-door leading to the music room. Since that wasn't part of the Earth, the Blackfoot magic on the knife hadn't worked on it. The spell was good for one use only, Chief had woven it for me to use that very day.

I didn't have much of a plan, not really. Nothing beyond going back to my old life, the life of Silbhé Arianna Kinross-Salani, graduate student at Norwich University. I was going to finish my three degrees (it'd probably be somewhat boring, but I was going to do it anyway), try and get certified in at least some of the languages I'd learned in the previous century or two (I didn't actually know how far back the Allfather threw me, or how long I spent in Themyscira); and then I had to find some way to get to Loki. Getting involved with SHIELD in some capacity would probably work…

So, not much of a plan, but that was okay, it wasn't like I needed to do everything on my own. I wasn't alone, I had my family. My Aunt Kathryn, who was probably still going to go ballistic, even if it wouldn't be due to a crazy Norse scorch mark on our backyard, but rather the hell of a story I had to tell her. There were of course Diana and Steve who'd sworn time and again that they wouldn't be leaving me again (no matter how many times I told her it was alright, I knew they would never fully stop regretting our estrangement those years). Lex, regardless of how many responsibilities he might have, with the company, his family, and the Veritas Foundation he, Trish and the Kents (Clark and Chloe had just gotten married the year before) had founded to help gifted; Lex had still promised to always be there for me. Julian for his part outright forbid me from even trying to keep him from things, he would be attending college with me, and had insisted on getting involved in whatever way he could, even if he wasn't gifted himself).

I had an awesome family, it didn't matter if blood did not connect most of us, family was more than that, I'd always known that. And thus, blood or no blood we still were, very much, family. A family Loki would be joining (either as friend or lover), as soon as I could find my way to him…

"One step closer

Closer to the light

No matter where we're going

I'll be by your side

And everything we used to know

Crashed into the great unknown

One step closer

We're gonna be alright"


	2. Maker

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time for everyone to come together, things to come to a head, and for Nightingale to face her fears and her past. I hope you'll enjoy this second half of my latest AU, I certainly enjoyed writing it! (Wasn't too kind to Odin in this one, but I'm sure you'll forgive me that... or not mind at all!)
> 
> Dreamcast: Emily Browning as Nightingale, Michael Cassidy as Julian, Kristin Scott Thomas as Kathryn, Amanda Seyfried as Ylva and Shiloh Fernandez as Fenrir. 
> 
> The song for this chapter is "A Thousand Years" originally sung by Sting, I recommend the cover from Harmonize Projekt 2 if you want to have a good idea of how Nightingale sounds when singing it.
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> P.S. Important notes a the end.

**Maker**

We all make history as much as history makes us.

Aunt Kathryn did not like the plan. That did not surprise me. Yet when she realized that there was no changing my mind, she insisted on being included. So we made arrangements. Julian and I spent the following two years at Norwich, doing our graduate studies (Jules was even more of a genius and nerd than his older brother was). Then he left for Metropolis to learn more of hacking from Chloe and share with her the duty as Watchtower.

By that point Aunt Kathryn had already arranged for her own return to SHIELD, as a medic this time, rather than an active agent. That also served to call the agency's attention onto me the very day of my graduation, allowing me to join SHIELD as an analyst and their new 'Asgard Expert' (there had been a huge mess in New Mexico, the kind I'd have never imagined possible if Julian hadn't hacked his way through and found everything that could be found on it, just days before we left Norwich).

In that same time Steve (still as Esteban Burke) somehow managed to get himself recruited as well, as both pilot and agent, while Diana (as Diane Burke) was considered a consultant. I thought it was all incredibly funny (there was this phrase I knew: 'one's an incident, two's a coincidence, three a pattern and four fate…).

The second of May of 2012 it all came to a head… finally.

We were in north Arizona when the shit hit the fan. In a facility that wasn't even supposed to exist. Diana had been called first, as she was the one who knew the most languages (even if they weren't aware she knew almost every single language in human history); Steve had already been there, partnered with Agent Clint Barton to keep an eye on the scientists working on the Cube. Coulson, being the sap that he was, did his best to keep the couple together, something we were all thankful about. While the two of them had been together long enough that they could go a good length of time apart without getting antsy or anything, they just preferred being together. I'd been called when, in the end, Diana was unable to tell them anything for sure beyond the fact that the language the scientists kept using in random notes when they appeared to be spacing out', especially Erik Selvig, was some form of Norse. It took but a second for me to confirm my suspicions, that it wasn't just Norse, but Ancient Norse, which meant that Asgard was somehow involved; and since everyone agreed that, had Thor been on planet they'd know, it had to be someone else (I was the only one to suspect Loki straight out, and that was just fine with me).

It still took us completely by surprise when the earth seemed to practically crack beneath our feet and everything began falling. Diana wanted nothing more than to save people, as did I. It was Steve who made us see reason. We could both see how much he hated doing it, holding us back, but in the end we both knew it wouldn't have been a good idea to give ourselves away just then. Not when things were just beginning. Not when I didn't have the means to get to my match just yet. So we ran; we did our best to help those we found along the way, and we ran.

We went straight from the Pegasus facility to the helicarrier; where Diana and I were immediately fixed with our own office to work on the notes and scribbles that had been scanned before the collapse of the base. Steve was appointed as our escort/protector. I wanted to believe that, again, it was just Coulson being a sap, but with everything going on I just couldn't be sure.

It was a while before things changed. We'd been assigned sleeping quarters. Once again, the three of us together. We kept working, putting together things that made no sense, even once translated.

"It's like… it's like pieces are missing." Steve mumbled as we watched what we had. "Like it's a puzzle but we're missing half the pieces."

"That's probably it." Diana agreed. "Where do you suppose we'll find the missing pieces?"

"In the minds of people who're either dead or Zeus-knows-where?" Steve hazarded a guess.

"Or in the mind of one that was brought on board a few minutes ago." I offered.

Both their eyes turned on me instantly.

"Loki's here." I switched to Ancient Greek before speaking, knowing they'd both understand (it was one of the languages Steve insisted on learning, knowing it was Diana's mother tongue). "I sensed him the moment he set foot on the helicarrier."

Then, as if that had been some sort of cue, Hill stepped in right then, stating that my presence was required on the bridge.

It was hard, standing there, hearing them saying such things about the man I love, yet not saying anything at all in his defense. But I knew I couldn't, not yet. The time would come, and I would be ready, we would be ready. It was hard to tell when exactly I realized I was in love with Loki. He'd been my friend practically from the moment I met him, my best friend (for a good while there my only friend…) but I had no idea when exactly he'd gone from friend to prospective love in my head. It was almost like the change had been so smooth, so natural, like that was what he was always meant to be for me, and I for him. I'd spent over a century trying to find my way back to him; from Themyscira, to Europe, to America, to that very moment, in a helicarrier flying somewhere above the Atlantic… Odin Allfather had tried to get rid of me, to kill me without dirtying his hands, and instead he'd ended up putting me in the path of the kind of allies I might have never been able to gain on my own… I just might have to thank him for that one day. He probably wouldn't be happy about it. Loki was surely going to laugh, uproariously… as soon as I dealt with whatever had him leading a freaking alien invasion on our planet!

If the would-be heroes words angered me, Director Fury's almost froze the blood in my veins. I'd been on the bridge for hours by then, mostly going through what information Thor had given us, comparing it to the pieces we'd recovered from Selvig and his team, trying to find the missing pieces to the puzzle. I could have gone back to our temporary working space, but chose to stay on the bridge instead, just in case. It was how I ended witnessing a conversation between Coulson and Thor regarding Jane Foster (and did they all understand so little about basic strategy that they thought Loki would have abducted Dr. Foster?! That would have been insane! Beyond insane even); which had turned into some reminiscing for Thor and Fury making veiled threats of torture against Loki. I swore to myself that if he ever so much as tried that I'd blow caution to the wind and get Loki and myself out of the freaking helicarrier before the man could so much as say my name… I had half the members of the Justice League on speed-dial; and then there were our other contacts, both in America and in Europe. The League was on alert and we'd been promised someone would be standing as Watchtower around the clock until the crisis had passed.

It was as Fury walked away after those dark words, that I finally decided to take a bit of a risk and approach Thor directly.

"Is he your enemy or your brother?" I asked him straight out.

"Excuse me, my lady?" the blonde was clearly taken completely by surprised. "I do not believe I have had the pleasure of making your acquaintance. Though you do seem to know who I am."

"I do know, I've made it my business to know." I told him calmly. "I'm Professor Silbhé Salani. I am an analyst for SHIELD and, I guess you could say I'm their Asgard Expert. I specialized in things like history and mythology during my studies, which has made me valuable for this particular organization." I smiled serenely at him. "So tell me, Prince Thor Odinson of Asgard, do you see Loki as your enemy, or as your brother?"

"Why does that seem to be of so much interest to you, my lady?" He asked me then, seeming honestly curious.

I couldn't really tell him that I wanted to know if he'd be my enemy or my ally so…

"History has taught us that there are patterns, always, events tend to repeat themselves in the right circumstances." I answered, somewhat vaguely. "I want to know what circumstances we shall be dealing with."

"It's… complicated." He admitted after what seemed like forever.

"Family usually is." I admitted without missing a beat.

"You have siblings, Lady Silbhé?"

"Not by birth. I was born an only child, but I was still young when I met a woman I came to see as family. We might not always see eye to eye, but she'll never stop being my sister. Her name is Diana Prince; and she calls me Aidóni, it is ancient Greek for nightingale, I like singing, have been told I'm good at it."

I threw the last part out there almost as an afterthought, wondering if the name would mean anything to him, though it didn't seem to.

"Family is a great treasure indeed." The Aesir murmured after what seemed like forever. "Loki will always be my brother, my lady. Though, however much I might wish to help him, I have no idea how to do that in this instance. The way he looked at me when we clashed in that forest. I'd noticed in the past, that he'd stopped seeing me as his brother and yet… he'd never looked at me like that… with hate."

"Hate…?" I honestly wasn't expecting that.

"He laid blame on me for so many things, half of which I didn't understand. He accused me of outrageous things, like throwing him off the rainbow bridge, or being the reason his best friend's gone. I'd have never done the former, I did everything in my power to keep it from happening; as for the latter, I never even met his friend! He was always talking about her and yet…"

He broke off, like something had suddenly occurred to him, and I couldn't help but wonder if he'd perhaps made the connection. I knew Loki had referred to me before him and his friends as the Lady Nightingale. It was precisely why I'd mentioned my old Greek name at all, as a way of 'testing the waters' so to speak. I never got to know though, as right then we were interrupted by Hill ordering everyone to gather at the lab Banner and Stark were working in.

I didn't follow. I wasn't really part of the Avengers Initiative, and judging by the tension that had abruptly befallen the whole vessel, I knew something was coming.

I'd just reached the doors to our private space when the whole helicarrier lurched rather violently. We all turned to look at each other, knowing instantly what it meant.

"It's time."

It didn't even matter who said it, or if maybe we all did. We knew it was the truth.

"May Nike bless us." Diana murmured, invoking the goddess of victory.

Steve and I just nodded. Even knowing that the Greek pantheon was real, or had been, that didn't mean either of us were about to worship them as gods. Especially knowing that, for all intents and purposes, they weren't the only ones.

Believing they'd be alright, I didn't say anything else, just took a deep breath, allowing the age-old bond free in a way I hadn't allowed it for far too long. I let it spark, let it touch my core and pull me in the right direction, in the direction of my heart, my soul… then I took off.

I made it to the detention area, to the glass cage where Loki was supposed to be… except it was Thor in there, with the space beneath it open already, and Loki was right behind Coulson, having just run him through with the scepter. I entered just in time to hear Thor's shout ring through. I reacted instinctively, throwing a hand out, focusing the magic as much as I could to try and push Loki away from Coulson. It didn't quite work, in the sense that, since it was technically Loki's own magic, it did nothing to him; though he still 'jumped' away, so perhaps it did enough.

"Who are you?" Loki demanded, turning flashing eyes straight at me.

"Aidóni." I answered simply.

"That's impossible." He hissed, giving an unwitting step back.

I was standing right there before him, and he couldn't see me. It didn't surprise me. Blackfoot magic was very good, after all. I wouldn't have managed to stay out of Odin's and especially Heimdall's sight if it weren't for it. But the time had finally come for it to end. So with that in mind I slipped the copper knife that I always kept concealed on my person out of its sheathe; then, before anyone could say a word I did a slash down my arm. The intent made it so not a single drop of blood was spilled, but the leather armband around my left wrist fell off.

I knew the exact moment the spell broke, not just for the way the magic washed over me, clearing the veil that had kept me protected, pretty much concealed from all non-human eyes (they could still see me, they just couldn't recognize me, couldn't know who I was); I also knew it because just a second later I found Loki standing right before me, so close I could feel his breath over my head, even as he held me by one shoulder, using his other hand to incline my head up enough to look straight into my face.

"You're alive…" He breathed out.

There was so much feeling… so many feelings… and they all hit me almost at the same time, leaving me breathless and almost shaking, overwhelmed.

"I'm alive." I confirmed. "Loki…"

"My Nightingale…" He practically moaned.

I didn't quite hear Thor's reaction to that statement, though I knew he had one; the next second all my attention, all my focus was captured by my love, at the same time he took my lips in a kiss like none I could I have ever imagined before…

And in just that one moment, everything was absolutely perfect.

**xXx**

Of course, perfection couldn't last. The kiss did not end until we were both having trouble with the lack of oxygen, but that was just fine for me. A couple of seconds later though we could both hear the rush of footsteps, people were coming. And then we remembered where we were, and what was going on around us. Delighted as we might both be to find ourselves together again, we had no time to bask in that. Things needed to be done.

So with that in mind I hurried towards where Coulson was still laying, losing blood way too fast. While from the corner of my eye I could see Loki approach the glass cell where Thor was still trapped, eyeing him (both of us really) warily.

The doors were slammed open abruptly, Fury at the front of a group of agents, all of which were pointing their weapons straight at Loki in less than a heartbeat. Loki for his part just smirked at them, practically challenging them to fire, even as he let his hand hover over the controls for the glass cage, threatening to let Thor fall without having to say a word. I could have rolled my eyes except, I understood. As happy as we were to be together, and while for him it hadn't been quite as long as for me, it had probably been more traumatic for him, believing me dead… which explained why he was being all confrontational. I also decided to take charge before things got even worse on all sides:

"Director Fury." I called with as much authority as I could muster. "I have a deal to offer you."

"What kind of deal Salani?" He demanded, probably realizing that it was important.

"A life for a life." I answered dead-honest. "You put down your guns and I will save Coulson."

"And why'd I do that?!" The Director demanded. "What the hell makes you believe you have the authority to make such demands of me Professor?"

The tension was ramping up, and I knew it had to end before things got worse.

"I'm making no demands Director, I'm making you an offer." I told him, infusing my voice with as much serenity as possible without actually manipulating anyone. "I can tell you right now that none of your medics will be able to help Coulson. I can. In exchange, you'll tell your men to stop pointing their guns at my match!"

"Your what?!" Several voices called at once.

I sensed the exact moment when someone got too trigger happy. My reaction was instinctive as I sent a wave of energy that made the shot go wide, at the same time pushing the gun off the man's hand so he wouldn't try it again.

"Time's running out Director." I stated. "Make your choice. Now!"

"Put your guns down!" Aunt Kathryn called as she hurried inside.

All eyes turned towards her, but no one really obeyed her.

"Really Nicholas." She demanded harshly. "Are you going to let Phillip die for your pride?"

"What do you know of all this Katharine?" He snapped in turn.

"Enough." Aunt Kathryn retorted. "Now make your choice. What will it be Nicholas? The man who's been nothing but loyal to you and SHIELD or your bloody pride?!"

I knew auntie had to be angry, she only slipped into her old British accent and curses when she was. The last time had been when she found out exactly what had happened while she'd been busy with a double shift in the local hospital, back in 2009…

"Put your guns down." Fury finally ordered.

That was all I needed, instantly my hands were on Phil and I was pushing as much healing magic into him as I could. It took several minutes, but I managed to make it work. Thankfully, Loki had teleported away when being surprised by me, so he hadn't made the original wound any worse by pulling out the scepter. As bad as the wound was, it was just a cut, nothing too delicate had been touched (not the spine, the heart, even the lung had just been nicked). I couldn't restore the lost blood, but Aunt Kathryn was already giving instructions to find someone compatible and make arrangements for a direct donation. That would do.

I nodded at her once the moment I was done with my part, then I pushed myself back and onto my feet in a smooth motion, the agents stepping back and away as I went straight for Loki; who hadn't moved an inch through it all.

"I know you don't trust him, don't trust any of them, but we need to work together if we're going to survive what's coming." I told him quietly but purposefully. "As good as my allies might be, they could do good too."

"I won't trust them." He announced, looking straight at me.

"You don't have to." I reassured him. "Trust me. I'm not leaving your side again."

"No, you're not." He confirmed, fierceness in his voice.

He dropped his hand then, and I was the one to open the glass cage. Everyone was more than a little surprised when the blonde Aesir approached us, instead of Fury, or anyone else.

"You're the Lady Nightingale." He said straight out, looking right at me.

"I am." I nodded calmly.

"My brother accused me of being responsible for the loss of you." He wasn't accusing me, it was quite clear to me that he was trying very hard (and failing) to understand.

"That one wasn't on you directly, but on your father." I answered honestly.

"What?!" It wasn't just Thor replying to my words, but Loki, and even a few others.

"What happened that night my Nightingale?" My Maverick inquired, voice heavy with feeling. "I was absent for a few days and the next time I tried to go to you… I couldn't find you. You were just… gone."

"Blackfoot magic is very good." I pointed out matter-of-factly.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Thor demanded.

"It's what kept me occluded, protected, from those who might wish me harm." I answered, looking right at Thor, willing him to understand. "Like the Aesir…"

"I would never…" Thor began, offended.

"She doesn't mean you big guy, she means your dad." Stark offered from behind us.

"That's impossible." Thor refused to believe.

"Tell me Thor." My voice was strong, but not unkind. "Have you ever wondered why Loki never told you, any of you about me? I was his friend for six years before things went to hell. Did you never wonder why he never introduced us, never even told you anything beyond the name he calls me?" I knew the answer to all of those was no. "Asgard doesn't look kindly on mortals befriending you 'gods'. The Allfather doesn't like us knowing you're more than myth. He seemed to particularly despise me for those two. Or that's the impression I got when he invaded my house one night, almost three years ago. He wanted to get rid of me, but didn't want to dirty his hands, so instead he called on the Bifrost, pulled us up, then threw me out, through time and space. I don't know if it was his intent all along to send me to the past, or if he thought I'd end up in another realm, perhaps even in the abyss itself. According to him, I was already a mortal, I would die all on my own. All he needed to do was make sure I wouldn't be able to reach Loki."

"And yet here you are…" Thor murmured very quietly, it was clear he couldn't fully believe what he'd just heard about his father, he didn't want to.

"And yet here I am." I agreed with an almost predatory smile.

Loki held me tighter from behind, strengthening his statement of not letting me go.

"Wait a second." Stark called again. "Did you say you were sent to the past?"

"That's correct." I nodded, barely glancing at him. "Anywhere between 150 and 200 years."

"That's some serious difference." Hill commented, suspicious.

"I didn't really keep measure of the time at first, not for a very long time." I shrugged. "I was dropped onto the ocean. Somewhere in the Mediterranean, probably. There were pirates, I do remember that much, and that I escaped the moment I got the chance. Ended on an island, a sanctuary, sealed from the outside world. Seasons didn't pass there like they do anywhere else. It made it next to impossible to know how much time was passing, and eventually I gave up on it. Until things happened and we left the island. It was at that point that I discovered I wasn't in another world but in this one, in the past, actually."

"When?" Stark sounded so absolutely fascinated by the whole thing. "What year?"

"When we rejoined the world?" I didn't wait for an answer, it was obvious enough. "1918."

"1918?!" Everyone was shocked by that, though Rogers was the most obvious. "The first war…"

"Yeah..." I ran a hand through my hair, uncomfortable. "We actually got involved with things during both wars." I shook my head at the dark memories that invoked. "It wasn't good."

"No, it wasn't." Rogers agreed.

"Who's we?" Fury wanted to know.

"What…?" I wasn't expecting that.

"You've said 'we' several times." Fury pointed out, very serious. "Who's we Professor?"

I wasn't about to give up my family, but in the end, I didn't have to.

"That'd be us, Director Fury." Steve called attention onto them.

"Agent Burke." Hill muttered, on alert, her eyes straying to his wife briefly. "Mrs. Burke."

"Actually, it's Trevor." Steve stated, completely blasé. "Since we're putting our cards on the table and all that. Captain Steven Trevor, formerly of the United States Army Air Force and British Intelligence. Served with the Allied Forces during World War I."

"That's impossible." Several people hissed.

"Really?" Loki scoffed. "What about your 'man out of time'?"

No one had a reply to that. Then, right as it looked like someone, probably Fury, was about to begin making demands, there was a loud siren echoing throughout the helicarrier.

"What the hell is that?!" Stark, Rogers and several others demanded at the same time.

"Hill…" Fury began, but his second was already on the comms, demanding a report.

"Sir, there appears to be some kind of hole in the sky, right above New York." Hill announced.

"It's begun…" I murmured under my breath, before pulling out my cellphone, completely ignoring the way some people actually tense at my moves; the call was ready to be placed. "Watchtower?… Yeah, it's me… I'm gonna need you guys in New York. It's time." I hung up the moment I got confirmation. "The League is ready, they'll be there."

"The League?" Thor asked, intrigued.

"They're a team, of heroes." I explained. "Sort of like the Avengers Initiative Director Fury has been pushing for, for the last few years or so. Except the League doesn't depend on any government or organizations."

"They're vigilantes." Fury's tone showed how lowly he thought about my friends.

"They're heroes." I told him quietly but firmly. "They've saved the world."

"That's impossible." This time it was Hill denying things. "We would know."

"Would you?" I rolled my eyes.

I considered mentioning Smallville, the meteors, the metas… but in the end decided that if SHIELD didn't know about them, they were probably better off that way. I didn't want to even begin to imagine all the ways SHIELD might endanger the metas, the ways the might ruin all that Veritas was fighting to achieve. So I said nothing.

The conversation cut off then, though I knew it wasn't really over, not just yet. The only reason we could even leave the detention level in that moment was because the mess that had just begun in New York meant that we were needed elsewhere. Fury probably would insist on us revisiting the conversation as soon as it was all said and done. In that moment I didn't really care. There was a battle that needed to be fought, everything else was secondary.

**xXx**

The battle ended being a tad anti-climatic; though that might have been due to just how many of us there were. The League was a well-oiled machine, with years of experience dealing with all kinds of enemies, most of them fast enough that most of the world had never known anything had happened at all. Some of the metas not part of the League (like Alicia, Cyrus and Justin) had agreed to join them in order to help more people. The Avengers weren't there yet, they were very far from being there in fact; though that was to be expected, considering it was their very first mission together. They still did good though. They worked together well, covering for each other where and when necessary; which was more than I'd expected when first seeing them together on the bridge of the helicarrier, not three days earlier.

The biggest shock the Avengers got was perhaps when they saw Diana and I once we touched down in New York. We'd flown in two quinjets (Steve even managed to stay airborne the first half of the battle or so, taking down a great many of the enemies down from there). Diana and I had taken advantage of the privacy to get changed into our battle attires. Hers the short battle dress in dark blues and reds, red knee-high boots, lasso on her hip, sword and shield on her back and her hair down. My own attire was quite different. The lower half was identical to my favorite casual wear while on Themyscira, a floor-length lavender skirt with an opening down the front, revealing pale blue loose pants; the upper half was different though, for while I was wearing the long-sleeved under-tunic in the same pale blue as the pants, on top of that I was wearing a padded dark-leather vest, with equally dark armor covering my torso. Flats and arm-guards meant to help with my archery were the finishing touches to my attire. And of course I was fully armed: bow and quiver of arrows on my back, copper knife half hidden and strapped to my thigh, and a dozen throwing knives strapped to different parts of my body. It was the last part that perhaps shocked them the most. I knew what most people thought when they saw me. I was small, looked younger than I was (than I had been even before drinking ambrosia), didn't look muscular at all, no one really expected me to be able to fight. But I'd been trained to it, by some of the very best amazon warriors in Themyscira. Even if I didn't have their strength and speed, I had my own way of doing things… and adding magic didn't harm my chances any.

The battle lasted several hours, but thankfully we managed to limit it to an area of about six blocks from Stark Tower in every direction. Not exactly a small battlefield, strictly speaking, but manageable with our numbers (and enough of a miracle, considering the leviathans and how fast though things could move for their size).

At Stark's insistence we gathered on the penthouse of his tower following the end of the battle. We all knew that Fury would be demanding explanations, and we'd rather not go back to his turf if we could help it. Surprisingly enough, Stark not only seemed to understand that but, aside from Thor, he was the only one truly willing to trust us all, even Loki. I had no idea if he had good instincts, or a death wish. He had his AI, JARVIS, order enough food for us all to eat, and then directed us to some temporary rooms, where we could rest.

The League were the only ones not staying, or at least most of them weren't. They'd be staying in a building owned by the Swann family (which meant Trish). Julian though insisted on staying with me, and Stark immediately agreed. Though that was probably due to the way they actually met, with Julian rushing out of the quinjet where he'd been persuaded to stay for the course of the battle, throwing his arms around me and calling me mama.

"I thought Reindeer Games was your chosen one or whatever!" Stark cried out with no tact whatsoever. "How come you have a kid?"

"I have a kid because I adopted him." I deadpanned. "I adopted two of them, actually. Back in 1993. You've met Lex already, he's married and with two children..."

"Soon to be three..." Julian blurted out, then he seemed to realize what he'd just said and slapped a hand over his mouth. "Don't tell them I told you! They wanted to surprise you."

"I'll act appropriately surprised." I assured him with a smile. "Anyway, you've met Lex, this is Julian." I went on. "Their mom, Lillian, she was like my sister. Matter of fact, she got me papers that made it so that legally I was her sister: Eos Solomon. She died before Julian's first birthday. Made all arrangements for me to look after her children."

"What about the father…?" Rogers began, breaking off at Julian's and my instinctive hiss.

"As you might be able to guess, that's not a good topic of conversation." I told him kindly. "I'll just say this, hoping you won't bring it up again, and especially not in Lex's presence. Lionel Luthor was a lot of things: a thief, a hustler, an abuser and a murderer; he should have never been allowed to be a husband, much less a father. He was a bad man, very bad. Lillian loved him so much it took her a long time to see the truth. But she did, eventually. She divorced him, and we made sure he went to jail for all the things he had done. And when Lillian fell sick, and we knew she wasn't going to get better, we made sure I'd be the one who'd take care of the boys. I know they look older than I am, I know you find it odd, to have Julian calling me mama but that's just how things are."

"She's the only mom I've ever known." Julian said very quietly, curled into my side. "I mean, I know Lillian Solomon was my mom. Lex and mama and Mrs. Kent are always telling me about her, about how beautiful and gentle and great she was, and I love her. But I also love mama. I got Uncle Steve to teach me how to fly a jet, and Aunt Chloe how to hack so I'd be able to help the League; because I knew she'd be part of that, and I wanted to be able to do my part to help too. I even followed her to Norwich when we got to her beginning and she went back to school. Got my own degree there."

No one seemed to know what to say to that, but it was alright, Instead I focused on finally introducing my kid (he might be twenty-one, but he'd always be my kid.

"My Maverick," I murmured, turning to my love. "This is Julian. Jules, this is Loki, my match."

"So… would that make you kind of like a dad?" Julian blurted out.

No one seemed to so much as breathe at that. Even Stark kept completely quiet. I felt almost like crying. Such a thing had never occurred to me. The fact that, much as I might have done my best for him, as much as Lex and Clark, and so many others might do their best to be there for him. Just like I was the only mom Julian knew, he'd never known a father. He'd older brothers and uncles, many, but no father…

"It'd be my honor, young one." My love whispered, moving past me to embrace him.

We hadn't even said a word about how we'd be handling things. I had so many dreams about us, about our future… but we hadn't really talked about it. Yet in that moment, as the two of them, the love of my existence and the son of my heart (or one of them, at least) embraced, I realized no talks were really necessary. The choices had been made, we were a match, that was a done deal, no changes, no take-backs. And that was okay. We could make our vows that day, the next, in a week, a month… it didn't matter, we'd still be together, to the end of time.

**xXx**

Not one of us was surprised in the slightest when Fury, Hill, Coulson and a couple of other agents (Sharon Carter and Jasper Sitwell) arrived the following morning and the first thing they did was place a bunch of pictures on the low living room table. At least we managed to have a decent sleep and breakfast before the confrontation took place.

Coulson soon took point, going straight to where Loki and I were curled together on one of the love-seats, Julian sitting on the floor by our feet.

"Thank you." He told me with a grateful smile.

"I did what needed to be done." I answered simply. "I'm sure Fury told you I made a deal with him. You for my match."

"You'd have healed me even if he'd refused." He refused to accept that answer.

I considered not answering. Not like I could lie straight to his face, but I was sure I could twist things enough to make him doubt… but I didn't want that, not really. I liked Phil!

"Yes." I shrugged, trying to make it seem less important than it actually was. "Though him agreeing certainly made things easier."

No one said a word about any of it, and that was alright with me. We had other priorities, like the bunch of pictures that had just been thrown on the coffee table, and which had managed to draw the attention of almost everyone in the room. The one at the top of the pile was a printed out copy of the photograph that had been taken of our team that afternoon in Veld, nearly a century prior. With the men in warm, sturdy clothes, while us girls were wearing the exact same outfits we had worn during the previous day's battle. Diana was the first to react, tracing the faces on the image with a finger. Steve and I knew exactly what she was thinking. Our friends… they were all gone, except for Chief, but he was another story entirely. Seeing that picture, remembering how everything had begun for us… it was shocking in many ways.

"Holy shit!" Stark cursed when seeing that, and all the other pictures. "Did you guys make some kind of deal with Dorian Gray?"

I couldn't help it, I snorted. I did remember that book, and the movie too. And no one had made a deal with Dorian Gray, he was the one to make a deal, with the devil, but perhaps that wasn't really the point. People like Stark… I had met others like him before, my love was very much like him in fact (insane as that might seem to some) with every comment they made you never knew if they were expressing honest emotions, fishing for yours, or something else entirely. It wasn't even about lies because, for the most part, there were no lies; no, it was about knowing themselves so well they could twist anything to their convenience, themselves included. I knew I did it sometimes, had learned from the master after all; but I still couldn't imagine doing it every day, with every breath…

"We're immortal." Diana told him. "This wasn't clarified earlier, we didn't get the chance, but my name isn't Diane Burke, that's only the name I use nowadays. Just like back then I was Diana Prince, which is the name Steve gave me when we first arrived to London. In truth I am Diana, daughter of Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons, and Zeus, King of the Gods."

"The Greek gods are real too?!" Bruce Banner called out in shock.

"They were, once, a lot time ago." Diana answered calmly. "They're all gone now. All that's left of them and their power are some human lines that carry traces of them, gifted. I'm also the only one truly immortal, as both of my parents were immortal as well. Demigods are as mortal as their human parent unless they managed to earn divinity at some point; though that's not possible nowadays, not with Zeus gone. Then there are the Amazons, they are warrior women, immortal, living separate from your world, in the island of Themyscira. That's where I lived my whole life before meeting Steve. He was the reason I left, and why I've stayed as part of your world. Not only for the love I have for him and our family, but the love he taught me to have for your people. It's the reason I… we all, have dedicated all these years to protecting mankind from any and all threats, most that you'll never know…"

"What about them?" Rogers asked, signaling to the two of us. "If they're not amazons or gods how are they immortal?"

"We were given a gift." Steve explained calmly. "Like I believe Aidóni explained before. We earned our immortality through our deeds and were allowed to partake in ambrosia. What little was left of the nectar of the gods. It's all gone now."

"That's how you made it back to this time when the alldaddy sent you back in time." Stark nodded, mostly to himself.

I couldn't help myself, I broke into laughter at Stark's choice of name for Odin Allfather. And I wasn't the only one. The way with just that one word, that joke, he managed to strip away everything that had made the man (the monster) so absolutely terrifying that night, as I was forced to kneel at his feet, fighting my instinct to shake in fear, having no idea what he might choose to do with me…

"I didn't seek it, but I did earn it." I answered simply, cutting off my own memories. "By my own choices and actions. As did Steve."

I wasn't that girl anymore, I hadn't been that girl for a very, very long time. And I was proud of that fact. The amazons hadn't only taught me how to fight. Among them I'd also learned to stand on my own, to know myself and believe in myself. Without that I'd have never made it back to my love, ambrosia or no ambrosia.

Loki didn't say a word, but the way he held one of my hands in between both of his told me all I needed to know. I wanted to believe that we'd have found our way back together. That even if I'd lived a mortal life and died, somehow I'd have found my way to him, in another life perhaps. Still, it was better not having to hope for something like that, I'd made it back to him, that was enough to make me blissfully happy. Of course, we were still going to have to face against Odin once he finally got on with the program; but we'd cross that bridge when we came to it, in that moment Fury and SHIELD were our main concern.

"We're putting all the cards on the table." I announced the moment we were all together. "This is, for the most part, my story, though I'm sure the peanut gallery will have their own opinions about that." I ignored Steve's complaint and Lex's snort at that (the League had joined us earlier, taking places all around the room). "Still, you and your people, Director Fury, and your Avengers, will keep quiet and listen. You will listen and wait until we're done because we're not telling this story twice. Now, I'll start saying this: I, Silbhé Arianna Kinross-Salani, daughter of Sebastian and Aislinn by birth, daughter of Hippolyta of the Amazons by choice, the Nightingale, the Historian, do so swear on mine life and mine honor that everything I will be saying here is the truth. So mote it be!"

Stark opened his mouth, clearly intending to ask what the hell that speech even meant. My love cut him off before he could.

"For people with power, mainly where it comes to magic, a statement like that, it's more than just a promise, it's a vow." He explained. "She will keep it, or the magic will make her forsworn. You do not want to know what that means. Just know that it's not something good." He made a pause. "As for how I know it works. There's a reason some people call me the God of Lies, and it's not because of something as simple as me being a liar, not even for being a good liar. I actually don't lie, not really. What I'm good at is twisting my words, my expressions, making you believe I'm saying one thing, when I mean something else entirely. Thus making it so I never lie, but you still end up believing what I want you to, regardless of the truth."

"Wouldn't that be lying anyway?" Rogers wanted to know.

"Not really." Thor shook his head. "Because it's on you, on us. On our interpretation of the words, rather than the words themselves." He focused on his brother. "There's a reason people call you Silvertongue and Liesmith. And I suppose your lady has learned from you. I did find it curious, when she first spoke to me, questioning me upon whether I saw you as my brother or an enemy. The way she chose her words, the way she twisted around things, the flourishes in her speech… she reminded me so powerfully of you. Yet I didn't see it. Not even when she gave me the name Aidóni and told me exactly what it meant."

"You weren't supposed to." I told him calmly. "The leather armband I was wearing, the one I slashed through yesterday. It was spelled by a Blackfoot Chief. Very powerful magic. It's what kept me occluded from Asgard all these years, since the night Odin threw me back in time." I shook my head. "But we'll get to that. In order for you to fully understand, this is a story that must be told from the beginning. So that's what we'll do."

So I told my story… or rather, we told our story. I handled most of it but, as expected, others offered their own pieces here and there. The early years were told in very simple, somewhat vague terms. Those were things they didn't really need to know, other than to be aware of the fact that Loki and I had known each other, trusted each other, for quite a while. Soon enough we moved to the part that mattered: our deep friendship, how we'd been on the edge of becoming more… when Odin Allfather and a few of his minions had dropped on me without warning one night. The way I fought like hell with everything I had, not knowing what they might try and do to me, the way I ultimately lost… and the very words Odin said to me right before calling on the Bifrost and then throwing me off it:

"…  _That's what you mortals do, die, and you do it all on your own."_

Loki also made sure to explain, in detail, what he'd felt when returning from a hunting trip he'd never even wanted to go on, where he was forced to save Thor and his idiotic friends, again. A trip that was interrupted when he went into a 'fit' that made the Warriors Three mock him, none of them able to understand that Loki had felt the bond to his match stretch, thin out and then wink out, just for a fraction of a second but still, it was enough to make him lose all reason for a while. It only got worse when he tried to visit his Nightingale and discovered that, for all intents and purposes, her home no longer existed, and regardless of how hard he tried, he just couldn't find her, not the slightest trace of her.

"I never wanted to hurt you, you know that, right?" I asked him, very quietly. "I need you to know that, my Maverick."

"I know, my Nightingale." He nodded solemnly.

I knew he was still hurt, could pretty much feel it inside me; but he did understand. He also believed that it was worth it. That us being back together made it all worth it.

"The things I did, occluding myself, the house, not looking for you..." I almost began babbling but I needed to explain it all. "I needed to do them. I needed to make sure the Allfather wouldn't come after me again. But especially, that he wouldn't come after my family." He knew I didn't just mean Aunt Kathryn, by then everyone knew about Diana, Steve, Julian, Lex and his family. "I also knew I had no power in Asgard, but I have it here. I had to wait for you to come here, for things to happen here in order to have some control. To make sure that Odin wouldn't be able to just drop on me again and finish what he began that night so long ago…"

"It wasn't that long ago." Carter argued.

"Not for you." I pointed out calmly. "For me…? For me it was almost two centuries ago."

I would never know the exact number of years, but I'd long since decided it wasn't that important in the grand scheme of things. Still, having said that, we got back onto the story. Explaining about falling onto the sea, the pirates, jumping off their ship, Themyscira… That was another part we kept as vague as possible, not wanting to reveal any of the Amazons secrets, or say anything that might compromise their safety. Diana of course understood that and while she was pretty candid regarding her own origins and power, she completely agreed with keeping the information about her people as vague as we could get away with. Then of course came Steve who, apparently, Hill had researched the night before. Unsurprisingly there was a lot to be found, on him, on us, and our team. They'd believed a lot of it to be legends, stories that had been twisted and exaggerated to the extreme over the years. Yeah… not so much. I would never forget their faces when they discovered how true most (if not all) of it was.

I explained very little about what had happened that last day, exactly. Though no one could have missed the looks of respect some people directed at Steve after they learned just how far he'd been willing to go to save innocents. The fact that he'd have sacrificed his life if I hadn't been there to help him.

There was little to say after the war. We said very little about our friends, not wanting SHIELD to end up involving their families, and nothing about Diana and Steve's daughters that they didn't already know thanks to public records. Regarding the second war… we only explained what was necessary, and it was obvious that Rogers at least understood our reticence. Also, as it happened, we'd crossed paths before. We'd been in the same base where he'd been just before going against all orders to save his friend (and ended saving over two hundred soldiers). In fact, Diana and Steve had been on the mission to try and track down those prisoners before it was discovered they were too far behind enemy lines. Had been planning on a way to go after them anyway when Rogers jumped the gun and did exactly that. Then there had been several times when we'd end up in the same bases while on our respective missions. We'd never come directly face to face; not surprising consider that he and his group had been focused mostly on HYDRA, while we were more with the rest of the army, handling the Nazis in general.

We didn't go into a lot of detail regarding why exactly we'd split soon after the end of WWII. They didn't need to know. Though I did mention spending about a decade or so going around Europe and even parts of Northern Africa and the Middle East, before deciding that the signs of the war were simply too much, I needed something different, and so I'd ended up in America. Not in the States, not at first. Actually I'd ended somewhere in the Caribbean at first, and slowly made my way up, until somehow ending up in Kansas sometime in the sixties, just in time to meet one Lillian Solomon. Also, during those years, both in Europe and in America, I'd come across people from more than a few 'organizations', SHIELD included. I was always using a different names, variations of Nightingale in every language I could think of; I also called myself the Historian. It fit, not only due to what I'd been studying before being thrown into the past, but because I was, effectively, becoming part of the very history I'd once studied so fervently. It was why Jor-El calling me 'Historian' hadn't really surprised me, it was a title I'd embraced as mine a long while before that day.

As it happened, Fury also had some information about the things another member of the family had gotten up to in the sixties and seventies. While Diana and Steve had been busy trying to recover from the war, something that had included them spending several years in Southern Greece, as close as anyone could get to Themyscira without actually going to the island, and a brief visit to the island itself. They'd also eventually had their second daughter. But Fury's information in fact concerned their eldest: Lyta, aka the Fury; apparently she'd gotten in quite the bit of trouble with the Soviets during the Cold War. It was really not surprising, even having all of her mother's power, Lyta was always her father's child. Of course she'd have gotten involved in the Cold War… she'd already done that with WWII!

I didn't say much about Lillian and the boys, that part was personal. Though I did make sure everyone understood they were my boys and if anyone so much as looked at them wrong they would be answering to me. Sitwell scoffed in obvious dismissal, but Carter (the only other person in the room who'd never seen me fight) glanced at those around me and then looked at me curiously; I imagined she was taking the lack of laughter into consideration. I cared little if they believed in my threats or not; while hurting others would never be my first instinct, I was willing enough to do it if I felt the situation called for it.

With Clark's (and Jor-El's) permission I explained a bit about Krypton, the El family and, of course, Superman. It was well-known that the League's base, the Watchtower, was located in Metropolis; and Lex made no secret of Veritas' mission, helping those with gifts, but Smallville itself was never mentioned, to better keep the metas safe. Hawkman and Hawkgirl also made it quite clear that SHIELD was not welcome in Metropolis, or anywhere near.

And then we got full circle. Back to that night in the summer of 2009. I explained about making it there in time to watch myself be taken. And of course I hadn't intervened, I wasn't stupid. Then I'd used the knife with Blackfoot magic to cleanse the garden, where the Asgardians had half-destroyed my garden and left a hell of a calling card.

"That's… beyond stupid." Banner stated.

"Friend Banner!" Thor cried out angrily. "Have care how you speak, that is my father you're calling such insults."

"Well he is." Stark, as always, didn't hold back. "It's not on you Point Break, but really. You must be able to see how the world is reacting to you, to all of us. Three years ago… I wasn't even Iron Man yet. The most public gifted people the world knew about were the mutants, and with the seemingly neverending mess with the Brotherhood, that was not really a good thing."

"The world wasn't ready to know that people such as you, all of you, existed, three years ago." Aunt Kathryn stated, seriously but with kindness. "It might not be ready now, but there's nothing we can do. The invasion happened and we did what we had to. Also, the battle yesterday wasn't really the worst way for you to 'come out'. Not the best, no, but not the worst either. Even if some people might have their doubts about you simply because you're different, they've seen you fighting to protect them, to protect the world. That's a good thing. Can you imagine the kind of reaction there would have been if the first mankind knew of Asgard had been connected to the abduction of a seventeen-year-old girl?"

"It wouldn't have been good." Jane Foster, who'd arrived just the previous night, along with Darcy Lewis, took it upon herself to be the voice of reason with her beloved. "Thor, listen to them. They're right. The Allfatther… what he did to Professor Salani. That wasn't right… and it's not just that he wanted to hurt her, even if not directly. Tell me, how would you have reacted if the first thing you'd known from our planet had been related to someone kidnapping one of your friends, or even your brother?"

Thor's growl made the answer more than obvious.

"Another thing you must consider Thor, is that your papa may be a big shit where you're from, the king and all that but here… here that stuff means nothing." Darcy stated, somehow managing to sound perfectly serious and almost adolescent at the same time. "Most of us don't believe in Norse gods anymore, haven't for a very long time. And even if we did, that wouldn't justify what he's done."

"Nothing could ever justify that." Rogers agreed quietly.

Thor said nothing; either because he understood what his friends were saying, or he simply didn't know how to reply to such arguments. I decided it might be better to table that discussion for the time being, and move on with the matter at hand. So I got back to the story: my return to Norwich University, Julian choosing to finish his own studies there as well, and then our joining SHIELD and, more importantly, the plan.

"So, from the very first day that you came to SHIELD, even before in fact, you were planning on betraying us?" Hill demanded.

"Betray…?!" Steve looked like he was going to have an apoplexy or something.

Me… I knew better. I could sense the emotions the man was exuding. It didn't matter how much control he had over his body, over even the most basic nonverbal language. I could still sense everything that was going on inside him.

"Please Director, don't be so melodramatic." I drawled in my most bored tone. "You are here, we're all here, aren't we? We're alive and New York is still standing. An alien army was defeated yesterday and, despite your own bosses' absolute disregard for the lives of the good citizens of Manhattan, there was no nuke detonated. What's more, thanks to Mr. Stark we even managed to give that thing a good use and have it blow up our enemies instead of us. So tell me, Director, what kind of betrayal am I responsible for? Just because I didn't follow your every order like a good little soldier?" I scoffed. "I have fought two wars, but I'm no soldier, and I'll never be. I am a warrior though, and a guardian. I will fight for what's right, to protect those who cannot protect themselves. I don't care if you agree with me or not. I'm not asking for permission, nor will I apologize for my actions." My throat felt tight, my voice was watery, but I didn't care. "You don't know, you cannot know what it's like. I was helpless once, and I swore I wouldn't be again. I was condemned, manhandled and thrown away like garbage simply for choosing to care about someone. I spent almost two centuries looking for a way back, I promised myself that never again would I be treated like that. I wouldn't let the Allfather treat me like that, and I certainly won't allow you to do the same, Director Fury."

The tension was so thick it could have been cut with a knife and then… and then it got even worse (I didn't even think such a thing was possible and yet…).

"Guys..." It was Chloe, and by the tone of voice in that sole word I just knew it was bad. "Dr. Fate just called… Asgard's coming."

**xXx**

SHIELD got Central Park evacuated. Because as it happened, Loki had made sure to ward Stark (soon to be Avengers) Tower the moment Tony welcomed us into his home, and Chief had long since warded the Solomon building. Also, we were quite sure that Odin wouldn't be dropping on us alone, not if he had the slightest idea of the kind of company I kept nowadays, which meant they would need space, and quite likely a lot of it; which, in the end, meant Central Park. So SHIELD managed to evacuate the place and then seal it, and we all went there.

That wasn't part of the plan, at least not of my plan. I was going of course, and Loki with me; because we knew either one or even both of us had to be the reason Asgard was coming. Thor didn't say a word as he stepped to his brother's side, and he didn't need to, that was enough of a statement, of a declaration. And Jane, so human and so courageous, followed him. I knew Diana, Steve and the boys were quite probably going to follow me; I still wasn't expecting it when both the League as a whole and the Avengers followed as well. SHIELD Agents made an appearance too, though Hill stated that they were there to keep civilians away, rather than to take my side on anything that might happen. That was just fine with me.

The moment the Bifrost touched the ground, the earth seemed to rumble beneath our feet under the force of it. The soldiers began pouring out, at least five dozen. And at the back of them, not only Odin Allfather, but also Thor's friends.

"How much dark energy he must have channeled to bring all of them to Midgard." Loki hissed under his breath.

"Be careful." I murmured just as quietly, not just to him, but to everyone else. "Those Aesir, they have not come for dialogue. They've come for war."

"Yeah well, if they want war, we'll give them war." Steve hissed, a hand already hovering over his favorite gun.

"My son…" Odin called in a strong, authoritative tone. "It is my understanding that the mission has concluded though you have yet to return with the relic, and the criminal."

Loki just rolled his eyes, neither of us were surprised in the slightest by his attitude.

"The battle has been finished, but some matters have yet to be settled." Thor replied, with as much diplomacy as he knew how. "But tell me Allfather, why have you brought an army when the battle has since ended?"

"Your delay gave me reason to believe that the midgardians might be holding you back, so I decided it was time to remind the mortals of the might of Asgard." Odin announced, proudly.

I couldn't help myself. I laughed, long and hard. So long I had been afraid of that man… so long that a part of me had made him… bigger, inside my own head. Someone so big, so powerful, so unbeatable, a god… made me wonder if that was how people in ancient times came to see them as such. If perhaps it was their fear rather than their admiration that compelled them. But it didn't matter, not anymore. In that moment I saw Odin Allfather for what he was and… suddenly I was no longer afraid.

"Who dares laugh?!" One of Thor's friends demanded.

Loki threw a glance at me, for a moment I wondered if he wanted to ask me if I was sure about what was going to do… except, he'd never ask me that. Because he knew me. It didn't matter that we hadn't been in touch for years. He knew me, and he understood that I'd made up my mind and wouldn't be backing down.

"I do." I announced, stepping forward, arms extended, projecting as much confidence as I could. "Tell me Allfather, do you remember me?"

He did. I could tell by the way his eyes widened, if only minutely, as they laid on me. And he wasn't the only one. I could recognize one of Thor's friends, who'd been with him and some of the Eihenjar that day. I smiled almost mockingly at him. What truly surprised me, even if I didn't say it, was that I could tell he wasn't expecting me. Despite the fact that it had been a whole day since I'd slashed through the Blackfoot armband and its protection, he still hadn't known about me. Either he was so convinced he knew it all it never occurred to him to look or… or someone else was protecting me…

"The mortal…" Odin muttered, barely audible.

"The one you thought would just lay down and die." I stated in a deadpan. "Except, that has never really been my style. Even when I was sick and expecting to die any moment I was never the kind to just lay down and die. That was your first mistake Allfather, to think that you could throw me away like yesterday's garbage and just forget abut me."

"You're nothing." Odin almost snarled, taking my presence as an affront to him. "A mortal. An insect and nothing more."

"Oh, but didn't you know? I'm not a mortal anymore, haven't been for over a century now." I told him in my brightest tone. "Also, not an insect. Granted I might be that, were we in Asgard but see, Allfather. We're not in Asgard. We're on Midgard."

As if that were some kind of cue, two groups stepped out of the trees to join us: on one side were the X-Men, all in their dark leather bodysuits, lead by a bald man in a wheelchair, and another wearing a cape: Professor X and Magneto… and on the opposite side, there stood an army of Amazons, lead by no other than Antiope. For a moment I was left absolutely breathless with the mix of surprise, awe, pride and humility. But I knew I couldn't hesitate, it was my time to stand up for myself. Long before I'd promised myself to never again be afraid of Odin Allfather, to show him and everyone else what I was worth. It was time I did exactly that.

"On Asgard you might be a king, a god, but here…" I shook my head dramatically. "Here you're the one who's nothing Odin. These aren't the ancient times. Mortals are no longer marveled by what superhuman individuals can do. They don't see you as a god anymore, most of them don't believe in gods at all! And if you try to make them fear you… they will fight back, and they will win! We will win!"

Fandral and several others snorted, but before I could say something about it, Diana took over.

"I am Diana, daughter of Zeus and Hippolyta, wife of Steven, sister of Aidóni, princess of the Amazons and last of the Greek deities." She announced proudly. "I don't consider myself a goddess, I never have. But I'm aware of my own power. I have power, I belong here. You, on the other hand, do not."

"This is not your world." Steve confirmed. "The people in it won't bow to you. We will not bow to you. And if you force our hand… you will see just how much a thousand years are worth in a world of mortals!"

In unison, everyone got on their guard, ready for battle. The Aesir on the other hand, just stared at us, seemingly not knowing what to do. It was clear to me in that moment that they hadn't really been expecting to fight. They'd thought it would be all a matter of posturing, perhaps threatening. Like we'd just bow our heads at the sound of their voices!

"You've spent too long disconnected from the Realms Odin." I told him in my most dispassionate voice. "Surrounded only by people who venerate you like the all-powerful god you've made them believe you are. You see mortals, see their short lives, and think that somehow makes them less. But you're wrong. Mortality is humanity's strength. They're capable of learning, pushing forth, overcoming limitations and breaking through obstacles that most would have never imagined possible. What you see as a curse I see as a gift." I cocked my head to a side in remembrance. "I might not be mortal myself anymore, but that doesn't mean I think any less of those who still are. I admire them, their strength, their resilience. I've seen what they're capable of. People call me the Historian but I haven't just read history, I've witnessed it, and it's a wondrous thing. All the things humanity is capable of, both good and bad. You chose to pull yourself away from that history a long time ago Allfather, and that was your mistake. You thought humans couldn't possibly be more than what you once witnessed them to be. Thought that because your realm has stagnated, because you've chosen to either allow or perhaps even encourage that, the same is true for all worlds; but you're wrong. Midgard… Earth… this world is always moving, never stopping. It never has, and it never will. And that's wonderful."

I could see the barely contained fury behind the sole eye and I understood in that moment that no matter any speeches I might give, he'd never change his mind. The man was just too set on his ways. To used to being the most powerful. He had no idea…

"I am Nightingale, and this is my world, this is our world." I decided to get to the point. "Here you're nothing but an unwanted guest. You have no power here Odin Allfather, no authority. Thor has been made welcome, and will be for as long as he wishes. Loki the same. You will not be able to take either of them by force. They can go of course, if that is their wish, but I believe you and I know already what their response will be. So leave now Allfather, leave and don't come back. You're not welcome here."

For a moment it looked like Odin might actually try and push the issue. I knew it was insane, the odds were in our favor where numbers were concerned, and some of us did have a lot of power, but the Eihenjar were Asgard's main army for a reason. I had no doubt that we'd win, but that doesn't mean there would be no loses, and serious ones too.

Thankfully things never got to that point.

"Stand down Odin."

No one saw that coming. No one saw Her coming. The moment Queen Frigg of Asgard stepped out of the shadows… she was wearing a heavy, floor-length, golden gown, her hair half up forming a crown with plaits on the top her head, the other half down; she had no armor and no weapons, yet it was obvious she didn't need them. I was sure that even without magic I'd have been able to sense the power in her.

"Your Majesty." I called with an elaborate curtsy.

From the corner of my eyes I could see people following my lead. Even those who couldn't have known who she was, what was going on; they trusted me enough to follow me. That was a great honor, and at the same time a huge responsibility. I could only hope to be worthy of it.

"Frigg…" Odin began, obviously as shocked as the rest of us.

"Stand down Odin." The Queen repeated.

And, as if that weren't enough, more figures began emerging from the shadows: there was a woman in a black lace floor-length hooded gown, as well as a squad of Valkyries, in full armor and weapons in hand, lead by a blonde woman in a pale blue battle dress and platinum armor, standing beside a huge black wolf… Fenrir.

It all happened swiftly and smoothly, almost as if we'd planned for it, even if there was no way any of us could have ever imagined something like what was going on in that moment. Thor and Loki stepped forth, each to one side of me, Jane moving along with Thor. I could sense her near-paralyzing terror, yet her love was stronger, as was her desire to stand by her match, I respected her greatly for that. Diana, Steve, Stark and Rogers stood a couple of steps behind us, ready to fight but at the same time keeping an eye on everyone else. They knew that if there were to be a confrontation between the two Aesir groups it might be better for us not to get in between unless there was no other option.

"This world is not your own Odin." Frigg told him, voice so gentle, yet at the same time firm and full of authority. "These people are not yours to command. They want you gone, and gone you shall be."

"Midgardians should be subservient to those they owe their lives to." Odin snarled. "And they owe their lives to Asgard."

"Perhaps." I spoke up. "But that was over a thousand years ago, and you forsook any right to demand libations, worship or subservience of any kind when you yourself chose to pull away from our world. You may have defeated an army, but the human race rose back again on their own. We moved past that, moved forward, on our own, because you decided humans were too primitive to bother with. Do not expect to come now and demand we see you as a king when you're none, not to us, not anymore. At most you're a name, a character in old literature and mythology. Nothing more."

"You should learn to address your betters." He snarled at me.

"Oh, I do know how to address my betters." I assured him in a near drawl. "I just don't consider you as such, not in any way. You're nothing more than a madman who's spent so long hearing his own voice he's come to believe his own legend, who likes to claim more power than he's actually entitled to, or deserving of." I scoffed. "I'm not afraid of you Allfather. I wasn't when I was a seventeen year old child, vulnerable and alone. Back then I was terrified out of my mind, yes; that my loved ones might be hurt, that I might never see Loki again; but not of you, never of you. And now…"

I said no more, but it wasn't necessary, the point had been made.

In the end things were pretty anticlimactic. Odin chose to go, along with his Eihenjar. I did not know if he did it because he loved and respected his wife that much, or if he maybe knew that he would have lost against us all and didn't want to risk losing what power he still had in Asgard. I didn't really care, none of us did; as long as he was gone and we were alright, that was more than enough for us.

I waited until they were all gone before stepping forth and curtsying deeply to the queen again.

"You have my… our deepest respect and gratitude, Your Majesty." I told her quietly.

"It's been my pleasure, Lady Historian." She told me in return.

I blinked, and suddenly it all fit into my head. It suddenly became so very clear how exactly not just Heimdall but Odin himself had managed to remain unaware of my presence, how the Allfather had failed to realize just how much things weren't going according to his plans (with both Thor and Loki). Perhaps even how I ended exactly where I did after being thrown off the Bifrost all those years prior… (people really didn't seem to be clear upon just how much power Lady Frigg had, exactly).

"It'd seem we in general, and myself in particular, owe you more than we might have imagined before this moment." I murmured, not knowing what else to say.

"You owe me nothing, young one." Frigg shook her head. "When Ylva came to me, to warn me about what my husband was planning… I knew it was wrong. I could have interfered then, more directly, but I chose not to. I knew you would only come stronger on the other side, a strength that would serve not only you, but those who would come to depend on you, those you call siblings, and sons…"

"You knew about her." Thor realized.

"Just like I knew about your Lady Jane." Frigg nodded at her eldest son. "The universes have a few constants my sons, like your matches. The kind of power behind a match… it's beyond anything any spell-weaver could imagine. And when it comes to matches that have existed since the beginning of time, even more so."

"You mean us." Jane dare speak. "When you say matches, you mean like soulmates. That we're together, and meant to be."

"It's not just that." Loki murmured in a mix of awe and conviction.

"Soulmates are not just for one life, but for every life." I stated. "It's eternal love, beyond time and space, life and death. She says we're soulmates, and have been since the beginning of time. One of the constants of the universe…"

"That sounds so very Star Trek…" Stark deadpanned somewhere behind us.

Someone, probably Rogers, shut him up right away, but his words left me thinking. About constants in the universe… in the universes. What were the chances? The chances that we might be a constant not just in our universe, in one universe, but in every single one. Of course, that would mean there were more universes out there, parallel worlds and all that, and we had no way to know if that were true (at least none I knew of). It was an interesting concept, could even consider it a beautiful one; the idea that our love, Loki's and my own, might be so strong it proved true in every single reality. In the end that did not really matter, not for us. I did not deal in the matter of realities, but of history.

"That is correct." The way the Queen of Asgard said those words, right in that moment, I couldn't help but wonder if she meant about more than just the soulmate thing.

"Will you be staying, mother?" Thor asked then.

"That I cannot do at this time, I'm afraid." I could feel the regret as she said those words. "Odin will not take what happened here on this day lying down. I must make sure our people do not suffer for any ill-advised decisions on his part at this time."

I could sense that a part of Thor really wanted to defend his father, to claim he still believed him to be a good man, a great king… but it wouldn't have been the truth. Not after learning a truth about me, and I honestly suspected Thor had had cause to suspect even beforehand, perhaps with something regarding Loki.

"Know that you and those you trust shall always be welcome here, Your Majesty." I dare speak for all of us.

The wordless agreements from around showed it had been a good choice.

"I… we would like to stay, Prince Thor, Prince Loki, Lady Historian." It was obvious that while Ylva addressed us, the words were meant for everyone. "I do not believe we would be welcome, were my match and I to return."

"You and Fenrir will always be welcome at any home of mine Lady Ylva, that you must know." My love stated right away. "You're as good as family."

"Any family of my love is my family." I followed suit.

"The ranch back home could prove to be a suitable place." Kal offered. "It's quite some space, and even in the town, I doubt most would mind, if we just warn them beforehand, and reassure them their cattle will be safe."

"That is a very generous offer, my lord." Ylva bowed her head at him.

"Please, call me Kal." He offered hs Kryptonian name, not willing to voice his human one when not exclusively among family and friends.

"It's a very generous offer indeed, Kal." She nodded. "And Fenrir I'm sure will be delighted to take you up on the offer every so often to have some fun, let go a little. But it shall not be necessary on an everyday basis."

Before anyone could even think to ask what that meant exactly, they witnessed it, as the huge midnight-black wolf seemed to begin shrinking, turning into what looked like a mix of smoke and shadows which twisted and shifted and then cleared, leaving in place a hazel eyed, dark-haired, almost seven-foot-tall man with an athletic build, sharp features and carefully groomed facial hair, dressed head to toe in black.

"Thank you for your hospitality." Was all Fenrir said as he bowed his head.

**xXx**

In the evening we were all back in Avengers Tower, at Stark's insistence. We'd spent some time after the departure of Queen Frigg and her Valkyries in Central Park, talking to each of the groups who'd come to our aid, to thank them and offer our assistance in anything they might need. Deals were made, promises to visit; Antiope in particular announced a boon would be granted for my match and sons to accompany me on a visit to Themyscira at the earliest opportunity. I just knew Queen Hippolyta was planning something, probably her version of the 'shovel talk' for my love. And, things being what they were, she probably wouldn't be the only one, I knew Steve and Diana had already done it, as had Julian, and while Lex hadn't said a word, Loki claimed that there was something in the way my eldest looked at him that told him he was even more dangerous than my youngest (he was right, of course).

Still, eventually everyone took off for their respective homes. The League choosing to go straight back to Kansas, not wanting to risk one of their 'villains' to take advantage of their absence to try and take over Metropolis or something like that. Lex and Julian had left with them (Jules pouting all the way) though not before making me promise I'd visit soon. While I hadn't said anything, I knew Lex understood that a part of me just needed time to be with my mate, the two of us alone, to allow us to fully connect.

It was ironic really, because I spent years preparing for a confrontation that had never truly taken place. Verbally, yes, but there had been no battle, not really. And that was awesome, it meant we were all fine; yet at the same time the lack of fighting left me feeling like it wasn't over just yet. That there was something missing, some kind of closure. I didn't fully understand what was going on, all the feelings fighting to burst from me, until I opened my mouth and began to sing:

"A thousand years, a thousand more,

A thousand times a million doors to eternity

I may have lived a thousand lives, a thousand times

An endless turning stairway climbs

To a tower of souls

If it takes another thousand years, a thousand wars,

The towers rise to numberless floors in space

I could shed another million tears, a million breaths,

A million names but only one truth to face"

I began remembering then, everything I'd been through, everything I'd felt. It didn't matter if they hadn't been exactly a thousand years; a hundred, two hundred or a thousand, it all amounted to the same in the end. Also, according to what Queen Frigg had said, this wasn't our first rodeo, not our first lifetime together; so, for all I knew they'd been far more than a thousand years, or even a thousand lifetimes. And it wasn't even just us. She'd implied Thor and Jane were on the same position as us (and I could sense how that declaration had floored Jane completely, even as she stood straighter beside her love, showing a level of acceptance, commitment and devotion I honestly hadn't been expecting) and all my instincts (the same instinct that had guided me to Loki, time and again) told me that we four weren't the only matches either, not by a long shot.

"A million roads, a million fears

A million suns, ten million years of uncertainty

I could speak a million lies, a million songs,

A million rights, a million wrongs in this balance of time

But if there was a single truth, a single light

A single thought, a singular touch of grace

Then following this single point, this single flame,

This single haunted memory of your face"

A single truth… our love. It was the thing that had sustained me, even back when I hadn't even known if he loved me like I did him… even when I hadn't fully comprehended that I in fact loved him like that. It was insane, or it should have been, because I'd been just seventeen when it all began; just starting to see Loki as more than my dearest friend, confidante and savior. We'd known each other for more than half a decade and I always knew he was special, that I couldn't be happy without him, but I hadn't seen it as that kind of love until after I thought him lost to me. Or maybe, maybe the problem was precisely that I'd known him for so long. I always knew I loved him, so it wasn't the kind of revelation it'd have been if we'd met after I began considering such thoughts. I'd always been so sure about his importance to me and mine to him, it hadn't occurred to me that there might be a different way in which we fit together. On the other hand, it was probably for that same reason that neither of us had any doubts, even after all those years apart. We were absolutely sure of our love for each other and a kiss had been more than enough to know we were both on exactly the same page. Not like it was the first time or anything, but still.

"I still love you

I still want you

A thousand times the mysteries unfold themselves

Like galaxies in my head"

A single look at my Maverick told me everything I needed to know. He understood what I was singing, what it meant, all the feelings I could find no other way to express; and he agreed 100%. We may not have taken the Vows yet, but by that point it was just details. Our love went beyond mere words, even words like the Ancient Vows. It was absolute, endless, unconditional; it was the force behind each and every breath we took and our every heartbeat. It had quite probably existed since the creation of the very universe, and would last till the very last star fell from the night sky.

"I may be numberless, I may be innocent

I may know many things, I may be ignorant

Or I could ride with kings who conquer many lands

Or win this world at cards and let it slip my hands

I could be cannon food, destroyed a thousand times

Reborn as fortune's child to judge another's crimes

Or wear this pilgrim's cloak, or be a common thief

I've kept this single faith, I have but one belief"

A part of me did wonder about other lives, not just alternate universes, but also other lives I, we both might have had. I wondered who I might have been. I'd had dreams in the past and while many of them were quirky enough I thought nothing of them, there were some that seemed almost too vivid to be dreams; and they all followed the same vein: I was a princess of some kind, forgoing heavy gowns for light dresses, climbing trees, laughing, singing; and the most important of all: Loki was always there. In the end that was the important part really, that we were together. That we always had been, and always would be together, because we were a constant in the universe, in every universe. Nothing mattered beyond that. It was a basic fact of history really: civilizations had risen and fallen just for love. Nothing was or would ever be more important than love…

"I still love you

I still want you

A thousand times the mysteries unfold themselves

Like galaxies in my head

On and on the mysteries unwind themselves

Eternities still unsaid

'Til you love me"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have news! Important news. My third book (second in English) just came out. It's called "Silver Quetzal" and is available in both Amazon and B&N. On that same vein, I'll be heading up to Ohio for the International Book Fair my editor invited me to in three weeks. Which means that the next AU, which is programmed for that same weekend will be coming either early (Thursday at the latest) or late (no sooner than the following Tuesday), as I'll be out of town (out of the country, and far away from my computer, actually) from Friday to Tuesday of that same weekend. Now, if you are interested let me know and I promise I'll do my best to post early rather than late.
> 
> And for those curious about what might be next exactly... What do you think would have happened if Thanos had found out about Nightingale, while Loki was still with him? That and a lot more in Banshee.
> 
> See ya around people!
> 
> Please don't forget to read and review/comment!

**Author's Note:**

> As always, full-sized poster and set of wallpapers can be found in DA, I go by Princess-Lalaith there (you will also be able to find a couple of wallpapers I made, under request, for a fellow fan-writer).


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